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)