Over-zealous

Over-zealous
police at Puncak

From Kompas

As we were driving home from Bandung to Jakarta via Puncak on
May 20, 2002, traffic police officers stopped us to examine our
driving license near the Gunung Mas tea plantation. Despite the
papers being all in order, our minibus was still held for what
they said was a infringement of Article 54 of traffic
regulations, due to our failure to carry a first aid box, which
they said constituted a serious violation.

We were told to read the rule on the back part of the traffic
ticket they gave us. All kinds of cars were examined. We wondered
why the obligation to carry the first aid box had not been
popularized so travelers would not feel they were targeted by the
police.

In Jakarta and many other regions we have visited, we have
never experienced police checks to look for a first aid box. The
unsympathetic attitude shown by the Bogor Police personnel was
also deplorable. The same scene can also noticed as soon as one
leaves the Gunung Putri toll gate and on the road leading to
Puncak. Travelers using private cars and, minibuses as well as
sedans, should therefore have complete papers and automobile
accessories and equipment as a precaution.

YOSEF

Jakarta