Passengers urged to be careful in choosing taxis

JAKARTA (JP): Police warned Saturday that people should take care when choosing taxis because robberies involving drivers were becoming commonplace.

City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said some dishonest taxi drivers had conspired with criminals to rob foreigners or people unfamiliar with the capital.

But the officer also advised that taxi drivers should be careful in choosing passengers because there had been cases in which drivers were robbed by crooks posing as passengers.

"Drivers should not hesitate to scream for help when they are robbed because experience has taught us that bystanders are helpful. In some cases, bystanders caught the robbers," he said.

The police received at least 10 reports of taxi robberies over the past three months. Two of the 10 cases were committed by the taxi drivers and their accomplices, according to the police.

At least two of the robberies were committed by groups of teenagers pretending to be passengers. They assaulted and robbed the drivers.

Several teenagers were recently caught by bystanders and severely beaten before they were taken to the police.

In January and February, a Japanese national was killed and another Japanese person and two tourists from West Africa were wounded in separate incidents.

In those cases, the drivers picked up other passengers without the foreigners' approval. The victims were taken to the wrong destination and threatened or assaulted with sharp weapons before being abandoned in a suburban street.

Aritonang said mischievous drivers were probably more inclined to choose foreigners as their victims because the latter were more likely to be unfamiliar with Jakarta and easier to be fooled.

"The crooks may think that the foreigners do not speak Bahasa Indonesia and this will make any police investigation difficult," he said.

Criminologist Harkristuti Herkrisnowo said Saturday that the drivers involved in such cases were possibly substitutes in poorly managed taxi companies.

"If the company was really professional and well organized, there would not be a substitute driver. A well-organized taxi company will always check on its drivers through the radio," she said.

She advised passengers to just give up their money to avoid being hurt. "It's not worth fighting and risking your life." said Harkristuti, a lecturer at the University of Indonesia.

Aritonang said the authorities considered the crime serious and that officers were coordinating with taxi companies to combat it by posing as drivers.

"It will worsen unless proper strategies are implemented," he said.

A Kosti taxi driver named Hasan suggested Saturday it would be better for customers who want to travel at night to order taxis by telephone.

"It's safer because the identity of both the customer and the driver is known," said Hasan, who has worked as a taxi driver for three different taxi companies for 10 years.

Another driver, Ahdian of Ratax taxis, said Friday that, especially at night, he would take passengers only from housing estates, offices or entertainment centers for safety reasons.

"I refrain from picking up people in the street because I have to be extra careful. I have learned from my fellow drivers... I just don't want to be the next victim," he said.

Ahdian said that sometimes he could not earn enough money because he was too picky. (cst)