Gas station sells bogus Pertamax, four detained

Gas station sells bogus Pertamax, four detained

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Taking advantage of the considerable price differences between
various fuel products, workers at a gasoline station in South
Jakarta mixed Premium with kerosene and oil paint and sold it as
Pertamax on Monday evening, the night the government raised fuel
prices by an average 29 percent.

City Police natural resource crime unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr.
Ahmad Haydar said on Tuesday that police had detained the four
suspects who were allegedly caught red-handed mixing the
concoction.

"We have questioned them and they have claimed that they were
ordered to mix the Premium by their boss, the owner of the
station. They claim that their boss is now in Solo (Surakarta).
We have sent officers there to find him," Ahmad told The Jakarta
Post.

Ahmad refused to reveal the suspects' identities, saying that
they were only employees acting under instructions from their
employer.

He also declined to name the owner of the gasoline station.

Premium was sold at Rp 1,810 per liter before being raised to
Rp 2,400 per liter on Monday. The price of Pertamax is now Rp
4,000 per liter.

Ahmad said police confiscated several jerricans filled with
samples of Premium and Pertamax, and samples of the fake
Pertamax.

He said that to make the bogus Pertamax the four mixed Premium
gasoline with oil paint and kerosene, as well as some chemicals
to give it color.

"They then sold the bogus Pertamax at the gas station. They
have probably been doing it for many months, and many cars have
probably used the bogus gas. However, we are still waiting for
police laboratory tests to ascertain whether all the gasoline in
the station is in fact fake," he said.

The gas station is one of the busiest in Jakarta.

Ahmad added that they would continue to investigate the case
to determine whether the crime was an just isolated case or
something organized by a syndicate.

Asked whether similar crimes could also be occurring at other
gas stations across the city, Ahmad said that it was possible,
but that he hadn't yet conducted checks.

"It's a lot of work to check every gas station in the city.
However, we will select stations to check based on the results of
our investigations," he said.

According to regulations, state oil and gas company Pertamina
is supposed to conduct checks on gasoline sold at gas stations to
ensure that no stockpiling or remixing takes place.