'Ojek' drivers clash over passenger

JAKARTA (JP): A jealous ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver angrily swung his machete and nearly severed the hand of a newcomer ojek driver who got a passenger while he did not.

The Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) identified the victim as Taufik, 28, a resident of Tebet who had just recently started finding passengers along Jl. Supomo.

An emergency ward nurse of RSCM, who requested anonymity, said that Taufik had undergone an operation, because his hand was nearly severed by another ojek driver, identified as Oyong, in his 30s.

Oyong saw a passenger go up to Taufik and ask to be driven to Manggarai, South Jakarta. This angered Oyong, who has been an ojek driver in the area for over five years, the nurse told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

"Suddenly, Oyong took out a machete and swung it at Taufik's hand, which was nearly severed. Taufik's family is waiting at the hospital. Nobody has thought about reporting the case to police as yet." (ylt)