54 arrested for hoarding 317 tons of fuel
54 arrested for hoarding 317 tons of fuel
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta Police announced on Wednesday that they have arrested 54
people for hoarding a total amount of 317 tons of fuel in the
past two months.
Jakarta Police Special Crimes Unit deputy chief Adj. Comr.
Agung Sabar Santoso said that police confiscated two tons of
premium, 154 tons of diesel, 73 tons of kerosene and 85 tons of
other kinds of fuel in two months of operations.
"We have worked with Pertamina and the city administration and
arrested 54 people in 54 cases of fuel hoarding. We also
confiscated 317 tons of fuel as a result of those cases," he
said.
Agung added that fuel hoarding is so widespread in the capital
that police found the suspects operating in almost every corner
of the city.
He said that the suspects were detained at the Jakarta Police
Headquarters while the fuel was held to be used as evidence in
court.
Most of the suspects were arrested for holding, transporting,
and trading fuel without permits while several others were
arrested for tampering with meters at their respective gasoline
stations.
They would all be charged under Articles 23, 54, and 55 of Law
No. 22/2001 on oil and gas that carries a maximum punishment of
six years imprisonment.
City Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said that the arrests
partly explained why in several areas in the Greater Jakarta area
fuel, especially kerosene, was hard to find.
"We will try to seek the severest punishment possible for
these suspects as in difficult times like these they are taking
advantage of people in the lower-income bracket who depend on
kerosene," he told The Jakarta Post.
Many housewives have complained about the increase in kerosene
prices in their area.
Sulistyaningsih, 37, a resident of Depok, West Java, for
instance, could not understand why she had to pay Rp 1,200 (US$12
cents) per liter for kerosene while several months ago it was
just Rp 800.
"My husband's salary is only Rp 1.2 million. Every day I use
kerosene for cooking. Life is getting tougher with the kerosene
price increase. I don't know what the government is doing," she
told the Post.
The government sets the price of kerosene for households at Rp
700 per liter, while it sets the price at Rp 2,200 per liter for
industry.
Agung said that the high price margin induces many agents to
sell their kerosene to industries, making it difficult for
ordinary people to find kerosene.
"We will continue to conduct similar operations as we suspect
that many other agents are violating the regulation. We hope that
the massive arrests will make them think twice about violating
the law," he said.