Illegal levies persist at traffic police office<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Illegal levies and poor service persist at city
\ntraffic police office despite incessant criticism from all
\nquarters and repeated promises by officials to address the
\nproblem.<\/p>\n
Jakartans, who tended to ownership documents of their vehicles
\nat the office over the weekend, said that they were asked to pay
\nRp 15,000 (US$6.60) in grease money when they processed their car
\nownership documents.<\/p>\n
The officers in charge refused to give them receipts without
\nany reason, the Antara news agency reported Saturday, quoting
\napplicants.<\/p>\n
One housewife, who had the ownership documents of her car
\nchanged, said that the officer \"boldly\" demanded that she pay Rp
\n15,000 if she wanted to be looked after.<\/p>\n
\"The officer refused to give me a receipt and when I asked why
\nthe officer was furious,\" the woman, speaking on condition of
\nanonymity, said.<\/p>\n
She then saw Col. Suroso, chief of the traffic directorate, at
\nthe office, who told her that she did not have to pay anything
\nbut Rp 4,500, the official administrative fee.<\/p>\n
\"You don't have to pay a single rupiah over that,\" she quoted
\nSuroso.<\/p>\n
Suroso's statement was supported by chief of the section in
\ncharge of registration of vehicular documents, Lt. Col. Utjin,
\nwho said that each applicant is required to pay only Rp 4,500 in
\nan administrative fee.<\/p>\n
According to Antara, illegal levies are also rampant in the
\nsection that oversees registration of new vehicles.<\/p>\n
A number of applicants have said that they had to pay Rp
\n25,000 in grease money if they wanted to have their new vehicles'
\ndocuments handled \"without a problem.\"<\/p>\n
Brokers, who have made a living at the office for a great many
\nyears, said that there was nothing secret about bribing police
\nofficers in charge, if applicants want their documents to get
\nthrough with little trouble.<\/p>\n
\"You ought to have extra funds to do that. There is nothing
\nnew about it,\" the middleman said.<\/p>\n
\"If the applicant happens to be member of the Armed Forces, or
\nthe relatives of an official from a respectable institution,
\neverything goes smoothly and freely,\" he said.<\/p>\n
An officer at the office said that individual officers'
\ncorrupt practices are also known by their superiors.<\/p>\n
Illegal levies, brokerage and other forms of poor services are
\nwell known in the city traffic police office, which is jointly
\nmanaged with the city administration.<\/p>\n
Public complaints and legislators' criticism have occasionally
\nbeen responded to with a crackdown but business always gets back
\nto normal several days after the crackdown.<\/p>\n
Officially, the police have always encouraged the public not
\nto use scalpers and brokers when tending to their business there,
\nbut the suggestions are often ineffective because the arduous
\nadministrative procedures discourage applicants. (pan)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/illegal-levies-persist-at-traffic-police-office-1447893297",
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