Motorist extorted

Recently, at the corner of Jl. Laswi and Jl. RA Martadinata in Bandung, my wife drove through a traffic light that turned orange just as she entered the intersection and she was stopped by a policeman. The policeman said that she had driven through a red light. It did not matter that the light had just turned orange and was not red when she made the turn. According to the policeman, the fine was Rp 7,500, but she had to pay Rp 10,000 to get her driver's license back.

Police corruption has long been a problem in Indonesia and it's time something was done about it. Such corruption severely undermines respect for the law. It is not possible to have any respect for a police department whose officers extort money from motorists for made up violations, and for the right price will look the other way for real offenses. How can the people have any respect for the law when those who enforce it will sell their integrity for pocket change?

KEVIN J. DUNPHY

Bandung, West Java