Corrupt district court is rotten to the core

Corrupt district court is rotten to the core

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

"We chose to go to court because we didn't want to bribe the
traffic police officer. But it turned out that people here ask
for more money than the police do," a 66-year-old man, who was
accompanying his son, said angrily in front of the East Jakarta
District Court.

The man, Satya Sanjoyo, was actually trying to encourage his
19-year-old son, Sapta, to be honest and face the traffic
violation the teenager had committed, instead of escaping the
ticket by bribing an officer.

However, he was disappointed to see numerous middlemen milling
around the district court, offering his son an out-of-court
settlement for a certain amount of money.

Sanjoyo told The Jakarta Post earlier this month that his son
had ignored a traffic sign while driving through Jatiwaringin in
East Jakarta.

The police officer who stopped Sapta offered an "on-the-spot
trial" of Rp 50,000 (US$6.12), but the youth declined, and
consequently had his driver's license taken away and received a
ticket instead.

The father and son arrived at the respective district court at
the hearing's scheduled time of 9 a.m., but as soon as they
stepped inside the complex, a middleman offered them his services
for Rp 75,000.

Although they were confused by the offer, they said no.

After asking at several desks, they learned that they should
go to a counter next to the court building.

They were told to register their ticket and take a number at
the counter in front of which a crowd of persistent middlemen
were also offering their services.

To their surprise, the personnel behind the counter were also
offering out-of-court settlements, but this time the price had
jumped to Rp 125,000 and they were emphasizing that it would take
hours to get through the actual court trial.

Again, the pair declined the offer and chose to face trial.

The actual trial turned out to be fast and surprisingly cheap.

The proceedings started promptly at 10 a.m. and every
defendant was tried for only a minute or so and had to pay a fine
afterward.

Sanjoyo's son had to pay only a Rp 30,000 fine for his traffic
violation.

"We were only trying to be honest, but the circumstances in
this court seem to be encouraging us not to be. It is all too
confusing and, therefore the middlemen services looked quite
tempting," he said.

Another violator, Abi, 25, had to pay Rp 3,500, because his
companion riding with him on a Vespa scooter was not wearing a
helmet.

Abi said that the middlemen around the court offered him
services ranging between Rp 20,000 and Rp 40,000. One senior
official with the court even offered him a settlement.

Dullah, a middleman, told the Post that from the service fee
he offers, he and most middlemen receive an average of Rp 5,000
per transaction, while the rest goes into the personnel's
pockets.

Trials for traffic violations are only held on Tuesdays, so on
the other days, the middlemen serve as informal office boys for
court officials, he said.

"Please don't make us look bad. Since the monetary crisis hit
this country in 1997, this is the only job we can get that pays
enough for us to support our families," Dullah, a former street
vendor who used to sell cassettes in Pulo Gadung, East Jakarta,
told the Post.