Enraged Mob sets fire to public minibuses

Evi Mariani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A mob burned down two public minibuses and vandalized eight others, following a traffic accident in which a motorcyclist was killed instantly at the scene in Kalideres, West Jakarta, on Sunday night.

The fatality, identified as Baharuddin, 31, was riding his Vespa motorcycle when a speeding Kopaja minibus en route from Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta, to Kalideres hit him on Jl. Peta Barat.

The minibus driver immediately fled the scene after realizing that the victim had died. Locals and passersby, who witnessed the accident, became angry and later set fire to the minibus. Nobody was inside the vehicle.

This was apparently was not enough for the public to release their anger. They stopped every Kopaja minibus passing the street, burned another and vandalized eight more vehicles before the police arrived at the scene and managed to bring the violence to an end.

Head of the West Jakarta Police traffic division First Insp. Priyo said on Monday that his detectives had yet to find out the identity of the driver that hit Baharuddin. He added that the police had yet to identify the provocateurs in the burning and vandalism of the public vehicles.

On April 17, a mob in Sawangan, Depok, also set fire to nine Kopaja minibuses after a Kopaja 86 en route from Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta, to Kota, West Jakarta, hit motorcyclists Asep Maskur and Hadi Basuki.

Public transportation drivers in Jakarta are notorious for their reckless driving. Many race each other while carrying passengers in crowded traffic.

One of the worst accidents occurred in March 1994 when a Metromini bus plunged into the Sunter River, North Jakarta, killing 33 passengers. The driver's recklessness, and brake failure on the minibus were the cause of the tragic accident.

Ramses, the driver who survived, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment by the North Jakarta District Court in May 1995.