Illegal fees at vehicle testing station denied<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A senior city official has denied allegations
\nthat city vehicle roadworthiness test station employees have been
\ninvolved in the collection of illegal levies.<\/p>\n
The head of the City Land Transportation Agency, J.P. Sepang,
\nsaid on Friday drivers might have paid scalpers loitering around
\nthe station to help them find a shortcut to get the service.<\/p>\n
Sometimes some of the drivers function as scalpers themselves,
\nhe said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
Sepang made the remarks after a city councilor reported
\nearlier that the collection of illegal levies at a testing
\nstation in Srengseng Sawah, South Jakarta, was rampant, resulting
\nin a sharp rise in the test's cost by as much as 500 percent.<\/p>\n
Asrul Harun of Commission C for financial affairs said on
\nThursday that the cost for a test had jumped to an average of Rp
\n105,000 from a city set price of only Rp 20,000.<\/p>\n
\"There is a possibility that some of the drivers themselves
\nhave also acted as scalpers. Many (hired drivers) abuse the trust
\nof their employees by frequently leaving their vehicle at the
\nstation while waiting for the test to be performed,\" Sepang said.<\/p>\n
He, however, said that he would take full responsibility if
\nthe allegations were proven to be true. \"I will take the
\nresponsibility and remove those involved,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Governor Sutiyoso reiterated on Friday that he would not
\nhesitate to take stern action against any official found to be
\ninvolved in illegal practices.<\/p>\n
He also called on people to not cooperate with scalpers and
\ncorrupt officials.<\/p>\n
\"Please don't ever give bribes. Just report it to the
\nauthorities if you feel that an employee has acted against the
\nreform spirit,\" said Sutiyoso after attending a ceremony where he
\nwas promoted to a three-star general.<\/p>\n
Asrul claimed the illegal levies included Rp 24,000 for an
\napplication form, Rp 6,000 for a car wash, Rp 5,000 for an
\nemissions test, Rp 5,000 for a speedometer test, Rp 5,000 for a
\nbrake test, Rp 5,000 for a chassis test and Rp 5,000 for a
\nheadlight test.<\/p>\n
Other additional fees included Rp 20,000 for a test result
\nbook, Rp 15,000 for a medicine box, Rp 1,000 for parking and Rp
\n5,000 for the installation of a license plate, he said.<\/p>\n
\"People usually don't receive any receipts for these
\nservices,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Asrul urged the city administration to be more serious in
\naddressing reports of illegal levies.<\/p>\n
\"If the city administration doesn't take any measures on such
\nillegal practices, it will suffer great financial losses.\"<\/p>\n
Sepang, however, insisted that such additional fees, including
\nfor the test result book, medicine box and a car wash, had been
\nabolished.<\/p>\n
Jakarta currently has two vehicle testing stations under
\nthe agency's supervision: the Srengseng Sawah station located on
\nJl. Mohamad Kahfi II and another station in Ujung Menteng
\nsubdistrict in East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
The Srengseng Sawah station was set up on 2.5-hectare plot of
\nland in 1995 and is jointly managed by the city administration
\nand private company PT Suara Adhika Wahana Ujindo (SAWU). It
\nserves customers in Central and South Jakarta.<\/p>\n
PT SAWU receives Rp 15,000 for each vehicle test, while the
\ncity takes in Rp 2,000.<\/p>\n
Suharyanto, the station's manager, admitted that there were 40
\nscalpers operating in the station.<\/p>\n
\"I've taken several measures to eliminate these practices, but
\nI'm still facing difficulties,\" he said without elaborating.<\/p>\n
He said the station currently tested an average of 150
\nvehicles per day, a drop from 300 before the crisis.<\/p>\n
Suharyanto said the legal levies submitted to the city
\nadministration in August totaled Rp 85 million, a drop from Rp
\n100 million in the corresponding period last year. (ivy)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/illegal-fees-at-vehicle-testing-station-denied-1447893297",
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