3-in-1 kids rally for release of friends
3-in-1 kids rally for release of friends
JAKARTA (JP): A group of 25 three-in-one people staged a rally
in front of the City Hall, demanding their friends, netted in a
city-sponsored raid last week, be freed soon.
Under the escort of lawyer Daniel Panjaitan from the Jakarta
Legal Aid Institute and a number of university students, the
three-in-one people, who offer their services to be picked up as
passengers by private vehicles to allow the vehicles to enter
restricted three-in-one zones in the capital, demanded to be
allowed to operate again on the streets.
The rally ended peacefully after the protesters staged a free-
speech forum and unfurled cardboard posters outlining their
complaints.
One of the posters read that the arrest of the three-in-one
people has violated their human rights.
Under the watchful eye of scores of police and military, the
rally in front of the city governor's office did not disturb
traffic as they held the protest on the median of the street.
Last Tuesday, the city public order officials carried out a
massive raid against the paid passengers, many of them children,
making some of them burst into tears.
During the raid, 46 people were brought into custody. Twenty
of them who were not students and were under 20 years of age were
sent to a Muslim-based foundation. The rest were sent to a state-
run home or released to their parents.
They were netted at restricted zones which only cars with
three passengers are allowed to enter between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m.
on working days.
The local government has decided to raid the homeless, street
children and three-in-one people in an effort to combat the
rising crime rate in the capital.
According to head of the city data processing, Raya Siahaan, a
similar raid has been carried out intensively everyday at
different areas since Aug. 24.
"So far, we've netted 200 three-in-one people, mostly students
and unemployed adults, and ticketed 131 drivers of privately-
owned cars who were caught red-handed carrying them," Raya said.
Each three-in-one person is paid at an average of Rp 1,000 (US
14 cents) per trip. Women often carry their baby in their arms or
hold their child by the hand and stand by the road offering both
of their services to drivers who need two people to make the
required three. (bsr/jun)