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.