To protect and serve?<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, Sept. 29, as we rode our Vespa in the Blok M
\narea at around 6 p.m., we were stopped by a policeman who said we
\nwere traveling in the wrong lane (though we later discovered we
\nwere not in violation of any traffic rules).<\/p>\n
No doubt, he saw two young foreign women and decided to take
\nadvantage of us.<\/p>\n
When he stopped us, he asked for all appropriate
\ndocumentation, including the vehicle registration (STNK) and
\ndrivers license, which we gave to him. He took the documents and
\nlocked them in a box on his motorbike.<\/p>\n
At that stage, we tried to solve the problem by apologizing
\nand asking for clarification about what we had done wrong. He
\nasked us for Rp 250,000 for \"processing costs\".<\/p>\n
We knew this was a hugely exaggerated amount and refused. He
\nthen made us follow him to a quieter location. We tried to resist
\nand asked why we couldn't deal with the issue then and there, as
\nwe saw no need to move to a quieter location. But as he had all
\nof our documents, we had no choice but to follow him.<\/p>\n
When we arrived at the front of Blok M Mall, he again asked
\nfor money, again Rp 250,000 or Australian dollars. We explained
\nthat, as we worked for local non-governmental organizations, we
\ndidn't earn dollars but rupiah, and offered him Rp 50,000. He
\nrefused this amount.<\/p>\n
He then became very inappropriate, saying, \"Kamu cantik
\nsekali, saya suka sekali sama kamu\" (You are very pretty, I
\nreally like you). He then asked us about our marital status and
\nsaid he wanted to marry an Australian. At this stage, we began to
\nfeel rather frightened and nervous.<\/p>\n
A senior policeman came over, but then quickly left. Once his
\nsuperior had left, the inappropriate policeman asked us for Rp
\n100,000 and a kiss!<\/p>\n
In Australia, behavior such as this would constitute sexual
\nharassment and the policeman would be punished severely. We were
\nthus left in a very weak position and unsure of how to deal with
\nthe situation.<\/p>\n
We debated the issue back and forth, with the policeman
\nbecoming increasingly sleazy. When one of us threatened to call
\nour \"husband\" to come and assist us, the policeman quickly
\nresolved the issue, accepted the Rp 50,000 and returned our
\ndocuments.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, he was not wearing a name tag or any form of
\nidentification, and as we were shocked and scared, we did not ask
\nhim for this information.<\/p>\n
In the words of this particular policeman, \"the police are
\nhere to serve the people\". Yet, how can we be expected to trust
\nthe people with power when this power is abused?<\/p>\n
K.A. SHANAHAN, Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/to-protect-and-serve-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }