DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency Confirms Ojol Motorcycle Ransom of Rp 250,000 Is a Hoax

The DKI Jakarta Transportation Agency (Dishub) has responded to claims that an online motorcycle taxi (ojol) driver named Sulis Agung was asked for a ransom of Rp 250,000 when his motorcycle was impounded by Dishub officers in East Jakarta. Agency head Budi Awaluddin firmly stated that the issue is a hoax.

“To correct the hoax news, we need to clarify in the media that the circulating issue about Mr Sulis’s motorcycle being detained and a demand for Rp 250,000, with a threat that if not collected within three days it would be placed at the traffic police unit, is a hoax,” Budi said after a roll call with ojol drivers at City Hall, Jakarta, on Sunday (21/6/2026).

Budi explained that during the enforcement action, Sulis’s motorcycle was retrieved that very same day. Sulis also immediately made a written statement pledging not to repeat the offence, and no fee was charged for the return of the motorcycle.

“What actually happened was that on the same day, Mr Sulis or Mr Agung, when the motorcycle was being lifted, he immediately took it back. He took his motorcycle back right away by simply making a written statement and was not charged anything at all,” he clarified.

Budi explained that this had also been conveyed directly by Sulis. Furthermore, the Head of the East Jakarta Transportation Sub-agency, Harlem Simanjuntak, visited Sulis’s residence to build a friendly rapport and to calm the uproar on social media.

“And this was also conveyed by Mr Agung or Mr Sulis in his dialogue or statement. That on that day (Saturday, 20/6), the East Jakarta Sub-agency Head went there without bringing Mr Sulis’s motorcycle,” Budi said.

“He came to build a familial rapport because the situation had escalated into an uproar on social media. And it is very important for us to be present. That is why Dishub is present for Jakarta,” he added.