Indonesian Judges Face Drug Tests

Indonesia's judiciary will be randomly tested for drugs after a judge was arrested at a Jakarta nightclub last month on suspicion of possessing ecstasy and crystal meth, officials said Friday.

The arrest of the judge, who was allegedly accompanied by prostitutes when he was caught at the club called Illigals, sparked uproar and is the latest challenge for what critics say is a corruption-ridden judiciary.

The national narcotics agency said that it had struck an agreement with the judicial commission to subject judges to unannounced urine tests.

"The use of drugs by judges is a breach of their code of ethics and will clearly disrupt their performance," said Asep Rahman Fajar, a spokesman for the commission, which oversees the work of the country's judges.

Indonesia has tough drug laws and possession is punishable with up to 12 years in jail.

The district judge, who worked at a court in Bekasi on the outskirts of Jakarta, was arrested on October 16 by drug agency officials in the five-floor club, said narcotics agency spokesman Sumirat Dwiyanto.

The judge, whom officials have only identified by his initials of P.W., was found in possession of dozens of ecstasy pills and crystal methamphetamine in a room with a group that included friends and prostitutes, said the spokesman.

He tested positive for drugs and has admitted consuming them, Dwiyanto said. He is currently in custody.

Rampant corruption has crippled the public service in Indonesia and there have been a string of recent cases in which judges allegedly accepted bribes.

Anti-graft group Transparency International last year ranked the country 100 out of 183 in its global corruption perception index.

In a bid to tackle graft, the government has set up the the Corruption Eradication Commission which has been given wide-ranging powers to tackle the scourge.