Drivers protest colleague's killing<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Most Metromini bus drivers on the Kampung
\nMelayu-Stasiun Cakung route went on strike on Saturday in protest
\nat the killing of their fellow driver by six of his passengers
\ntwo days earlier.<\/p>\n
Only three of the 36 bus drivers were willing to return to
\nwork after a long debate with executives of PT Metro Mini, a
\ncooperatives for owners of the minibuses, and local authorities
\nat the cooperatives' office in East Jakarta on Saturday.<\/p>\n
Local authorities, including the police and military officers,
\nare afraid that the drivers would go on strike until today, when
\nmost people in the city return to work after celebrating the
\nweek-long holidays of Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
"Who would want to work under such circumstances?" asked a
\ndriver, who decided to stay at home with his bus.<\/p>\n
The drivers were angry after one of their colleagues, Edison
\nTampubolon, 30, was mobbed and killed by at least six men, who
\nhad refused to pay the official fare.<\/p>\n
The incident took place on Jl. Sentra Primer at Cakung in East
\nJakarta on Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
The six men got angry when Tampubolon's conductor, Parulian
\nMunte, 20, asked them to pay Rp 1,800, instead of the Rp 500 they
\nhad given him.<\/p>\n
At the height of the argument, Tampubolon got out of his car
\nand pleaded with the recalcitrant passengers to pay up. But his
\npleas fell on deaf ears, and the six men vented their anger on
\nthe driver who found himself on the receiving end of a brutal
\nbeating.<\/p>\n
Tampubolon died when one of the six passengers hit him with
\niron bars and wooden blocks. His conductor survived as he managed
\nto escape from the angry assailants. He suffered several bruises
\nin the face.<\/p>\n
Another driver, Zainuddin Purba, was also attacked at the same
\nsite in October last year.<\/p>\n
If the strike on this busy route continues, hundreds of people
\nwill be stranded today.<\/p>\n
The local Cakung police have already questioned at least five
\npeople, but none of them had been named as suspects in the case
\nby Saturday evening.<\/p>\n
Reliable sources believe that the suspects are local
\nresidents. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/drivers-protest-colleagues-killing-1447893297",
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