On the spot fines

It seems that now, when certain police officers stop motorists for whatever reason they find justifiable, traffic offenders are not offering a bribe so long as police officers are willing to pay the fine at the place of payment on the behalf of the offender.

If this were done properly, it could be a good thing. It would save time for offenders and the police department could increase its revenue, legally.

The problem is when officers, who say they are willing to pay the fine for offenders, refuse to give receipts. I know of two incidents in which this happened -- once to me and once to my wife.

I don't mind paying a fine on the spot. In fact, it saves me a lot of time and trouble. But what I can't understand is that when I asked the police officer for one of the ticket's carbon copies as a receipt, he said he couldn't give it to me. Why not? No answer.

This might be something for the police department to think about. After all, who is going to rob a police office collecting fines in the middle of Jl. Thamrin, Sudirman, or Gatot Subroto? They normally don't work alone.

If I give the officer the right amount of money for the fine (in this case Rp 150,000 in cash), and the officer says he will pay the fine for me, shouldn't I be entitled to a receipt?

A. ZAINAL

Jakarta