Park visitors complain about scalpers

BOGOR: Holiday visitors at the Bogor Botanical Gardens complained on Tuesday about scalpers' operations at the park which required visitors to purchase admission tickets at prices which were higher than the normal price.

The normal price is listed at Rp 3,000 per ticket, while the scalpers sold them at the price of at least Rp 3,500.

"I'm fed up with their corruption. I wanted to buy my tickets at the park's ticket counters but then after being forced I had to buy my tickets from a scalper for a total price of Rp 17,500 for five tickets," said Hasan, 37, a visitor from Tangerang who had his family of five with him.

M. Yusuf, a security officer at the park said that there was no prohibition against scalpers operating there as it was their right to buy and sell tickets. "But they should sell the tickets at a proper price as most of the visitors are poor people," he said.

Amas, the head of the park's financial department, said that the park had no legal basis to arrest them, "Because they did not financially harm us," he said.

On the first day of Idul Fitri celebrations on Sunday, the park hosted some 5,000 people, and on Monday visitor numbers jumped to 22,000.--JP