182 fined for not having ID cards
182 fined for not having ID cards
JAKARTA (JP): Police checked identification cards of almost
3,000 people in an ID card operation in Palmerah, West Jakarta,
yesterday.
The operation, conducted by the city population agency,
started in front of the Palmerah district office and netted
passersby and public transport passengers.
After documents were processed, 182 people went on trial on
the spot, while another 2,664 people were released after they
convinced officers they were legal residents of the city.
A judge from West Jakarta District Court, H.S. Djarwadi, who
led the trial, said fines ranged between Rp 5,000 (US$2.08) and
Rp 20,000, depending on the violation.
"Most people fined in the operation only had ID cards from
other cities," Djarwadi said.
Out of the 182 people, six were freed after two lawyers from
West Jakarta District Court's Legal Aid Unit convinced the judge
to release them because they were poor.
The netted people looked confused when at least 80 officers,
led by city population agency chief Soedarsono, stopped buses and
minivans they rode on along Jl. KH. Taisir.
A cigarette vendor, Kada, who was fined Rp 15,000, expressed
anger because was not able to eat lunch until his trial ended at
about 3:30 p.m.
Most of the fined people said they were reluctant to process
their ID cards because of complicated processing procedures.
They said they were forced to pay from Rp 25,000 to Rp 100,000
to get ID cards.
Kada, who had an ID card from Tegal, Central Java, said he
still had difficulties getting a temporary ID card even though he
offered to pay Rp 25,000.
Kada has been living in the Rawa Belong area in West Jakarta
for the past 15 years. His wife and three children live in Tegal.
An official of the Palmerah district office, Arsyad Rahim,
said that it was easy to process ID cards.
Requirements for ID card processing include a migrant
document, a good behavior document from police, a job guarantee
and a Rp 5,000 administration fee, he said.
"They no longer have to wait six months as people had to do in
the past," he said.
Some fined people were students who were spending their
holiday in the city.
Senior high school student Hariyadi Lubis, from Medan, North
Sumatra, said he was fined Rp 10,600, but said he was confused
about why he was fined.
"I've been staying with my uncle here for three days. I don't
know why the officers stopped my bus and asked me to get out,"
Lubis said.
A female student, Maya, from Palembang, South Sumatra, was
also confused about the Rp 10,600 fine.
Judge Djarwadi said the students were fined because they
failed to show travel documents or documents from neighborhood
chiefs of where they stayed in the city.
After being tried, the people were given a form so they could
process their temporary ID cards.
On Monday, a similar operation was conducted on Jl. Meruya
Ilir, Kembangan, West Jakarta. At least 150 of 1,500 netted
people were fined for not having Jakarta ID cards.
Today, an ID operation will be held in Kapuk subdistrict. On
July 26, a similar operation will be conducted in Tegal Alur
subdistrict. Both areas are in West Jakarta.
West Jakarta Mayor Sutardjianto said the ID operations were
aimed at identifying newcomers in the area.
He called on his officers to conduct operations politely.
(jun)