Man Posing as General Arrested for Assaulting Petrol Station Attendant in East Jakarta
Police arrested a man with initials JMH (31) who claimed to be a general whilst assaulting a petrol station attendant in Cipinang, East Jakarta. JMH fabricated his military rank to convince the attendant to fill his Toyota Vellfire with Pertalite. The suspect is not a government official but rather an employee of a car rental company.
The revelation emerged during JMH’s interrogation by East Jakarta Metro Police Commander Kombes Alfian Nurrizal, which was posted on the officer’s Instagram account. Kombes Alfian initially questioned the suspect regarding the forged number plate used on his Toyota Vellfire.
“Why are you using a fake registration plate?” asked Alfian, as reported by detik.com from his Instagram account on Wednesday (25 February 2026).
“To get Pertalite, sir,” the suspect replied.
“Is it not wrong to use a fake registration plate?” Alfian asked again.
“Correct, it was wrong, sir,” the suspect acknowledged.
Kombes Alfian then inquired about the suspect’s motives for striking the petrol station attendant. The suspect claimed he hit the attendant because the attendant had pulled his shirt first.
“I don’t see any shirt-pulling towards you; rather, you pulled the victim’s shirt,” Alfian stated.
Alfian subsequently asked why the suspect had impersonated a general. The suspect admitted he had falsely claimed to be a general to persuade the petrol station attendant to fill his vehicle with Pertalite, but did not specify which institution he was claiming to represent.
“(I claimed to be a general) so that (the fuel) would be filled, sir. I didn’t mention which institution,” the suspect said.
Drug Test Results
Kombes Alfian asked whether the suspect had used narcotics. The suspect denied it. However, urine test results revealed otherwise. The suspect tested positive for methamphetamine and cannabis.
The suspect admitted he had consumed the drugs whilst in Bali.
“When I was in Bali, four days ago. Cannabis also in Bali,” he said.
Suspect Arrested
The incident occurred at a petrol station in the Cipinang area of East Jakarta on Sunday evening (22 February). The suspect was arrested on Wednesday (24 February).
The situation began when the suspect attempted to purchase subsidised Pertalite fuel for his Vellfire but was refused by the attendant because he lacked a barcode. Notably, the filling of subsidised fuel now requires the use of a barcode.
However, the petrol station attendant refused because the barcode did not match the vehicle’s registration number, meaning the filling could not proceed in accordance with regulations. Pertamina has implemented a barcode system for Pertalite fuel. Vehicles without a barcode cannot purchase Pertalite fuel.