Bajaj driver tried for having knife

JAKARTA (JP): A driver of a bajaj, a three-wheel motorized vehicle, was tried in Jakarta Central District Court yesterday for possessing a knife in public.

The prosecutor said the defendant, named Sopianto, 27, was charged under Article 2 of the 1951 Emergency Law, which carries a maximum 10-year prison term for people found possessing sharp weapons in public without legal papers.

Sopianto was a night driver, who operated in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. He shared the bajaj with his father, who drove the vehicle during the day.

He was arrested in an operation on sharp weapons in front of a bus stop in Kemayoran on April 1 at 4 a.m., Lukimanto said.

"I only had the knife with me to defend myself against any passengers who wanted to rob me. A few bajaj drivers had been robbed by passengers in the area," Sopianto said. (04)