Bandung – Police raided a gay party event held at a villa in the Puncak area of Bogor, West Java, on Sunday June 22. During the raid, 75 people were arrested.
"All of them were secured, there were 75 people, consisting of 74 men and one woman", Bogor District Police Criminal Investigation Unit Head Deputy Police Commissioner Teguh Kumara told reporters on Tuesday June 24.
Teguh explained that the raid began when they received information from the public that there was a villa being used to hold a male Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) meeting. The information was immediately followed up by the police who visited the villa. There, the police found a gathering of dozens of people.
"[We] found 74 men and one woman who were gathered there and had just finished holding a 'Big Star' selection contest or competition", Kumara said.
From the results of a preliminary investigation, the organiser of the event distributed invitations through social media. The participants from the Greater Jakarta area were also charged 200,000 rupiah to attend the event.
"The committee distributed the invitation with the theme 'A Family Gathering' which was filled with performances and singing competitions and dancing competitions", said Kumara.
Furthermore, Kumara said that they are currently still looking into the gay party activities, including, coordinating with the Health Office to look into information about participants suspected of having HIV.
"We are already coordinating with the Health Office and it's currently being looked into by the Health Office", he said.
Meanwhile, West Java Regional Police Public Relations Division Head Senior Commissioner Hendra Rochmawan said that they also secured a number of pieces of evidence at the location, including four contraceptives and one sword used for a dance performance. (dis/csr/dal)
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Polisi Gerebek Pesta Gay di Puncak Bogor, 75 Orang Ditangkap".]
