Luxury Car with 'RI'-Like Plate in Tangerang Mistaken for Minister's Vehicle

Police issued a ticket to a BYD Denza with a modified number plate resembling the letters ‘RI’ in Cikupa, Tangerang Regency. The vehicle was initially mistaken for a minister’s car due to the ‘R1’ plate appearing similar to ‘RI’.

“Cikupa is frequently traversed by VVIPs. That night, officers saw the vehicle with that plate and wondered, ‘Is this a minister’s car?’ because VVIP movements are typically monitored via radio,” said Tangerang Police Traffic Chief AKP Fery Oktoviari Pratama when contacted by detikcom on Wednesday (27/5/2026).

However, upon closer inspection, the plate displayed ‘R1’ (the letter R and number 1) joined together to resemble ‘RI’. The ‘RI’ plate is a special code for government officials’ vehicles and ministers.

The plate read ‘R1 126’, which at a glance resembled the official vehicle code ‘RI’.

The original plate was ‘R-1126’, but the owner modified the front letter and number 1 to be adjacent, forming ‘R1’ which looked like ‘RI’ when read.

“The plate was ‘R-1126’—the ‘1’ was still there but was hammered to be adjacent to the ‘R’, making it look like ‘RI’,” he said.

Nevertheless, the driver was still issued a ticket and advised to replace the number plate with one that meets technical specifications.

Officers issued a warning and immediately ticketed the driver under Article 280 of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Traffic and Road Transportation (LLAJ).

“Issued immediately,” he said.

“Anyone operating a motor vehicle on the road without a number plate issued by the Indonesian National Police (Polri) shall be punished with imprisonment of up to two months or a fine of up to Rp500,000.”