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.