Jaded customer

It always seemed reassuring to see a large sign at the exit of Carrefour on Jl. Jend. A Yani, Cempaka Putih, asking motorists to have their vehicle registration papers ready to show the parking attendant when leaving the compound.

I naively thought this measure was good protection against car theft. That is until the car in front of me on Aug. 14 at 11 a.m. handed over his parking card, and after a delay handed something else over that struck me as odd because the elderly parking attendant did not return it, which he obviously would have done if he had been handed the registration papers.

When I pulled up alongside to hand in my parking card and present my registration papers, I noticed the attendant was holding a parking card and a Rp 1,000 banknote.

Motorists like this deserve to have their cars stolen. But what about the rest of us? And don't people like the parking attendant realize that Rp 1,000 isn't worth risking his job for?

LINDA

Jakarta