SEMARAPURA

Klungkung regency’s law enforcers say “wild cafés” in the district are beyond their control because owners just ignore their rulings or delay responses.

Regency justice chief Tjok Gede Agung said this week they tried to act against illegal cafés, often fronts for prostitution, in accordance with instructions from the regent and in response to Governor I Made Mangku Pastika’s recent call for closures, but records of permits and other official papers were incomplete or inaccurate.

He said a further problem was that cafés were often venues for fights, including between angry wives and “waitresses” who they believed had been “teasing” their husbands.

Tjok Gede Agung, who is also Klungkung’s vice regent, said: “Cafés we can prove are unlicensed are subjected to decisive action, even closure.”

He said such places had a role in the community as legitimate food and beverage outlets and for business meetings, provided they were well run and kept within the law.

The problem lay with cafés that allowed drug dealing and even prostitution on the premises.