Over-zealous police at Puncak

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