Reckless Driver on Gunung Sahari Faces Charges, Risks Four Years in Prison
The Jakarta Police have named Hafiz Mahendra (25) as a suspect following his reckless driving and driving against traffic on Jalan Gunung Sahari, Central Jakarta.
In this case, the suspect is charged under Article 311, paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of Law No. 22 of 2009 on Road Traffic and Transportation.
“The driver who drives his vehicle in a manner that endangers other road users is subject to Article 311, paragraph 1,” said the Head of Traffic at the Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Kombes Komarudin, to reporters on Thursday (February 26).
“Causing material losses is covered in paragraph 2, and paragraph 3 covers cases where there are victims with injuries,” he added.
Komarudin stated that for his actions, the suspect faces a maximum prison sentence of four years.
“He is threatened with a prison sentence of up to 4 years and a fine of IDR 8 million,” he said.
Currently, the police are also investigating other general criminal offenses committed by the driver.
This is related to the discovery of a toy gun, as well as sharp weapons, namely a machete and a dagger, in the vehicle.
“Furthermore, considering that there is a series of events and several pieces of evidence that we found in the vehicle, we have handed it over to the Central Jakarta Police for further investigation,” said Komarudin.
Previously, the reckless driving incident was recorded in a video and went viral on social media. One of them was uploaded to the Instagram account @jakarta.terkini.
In the uploaded video, a car is seen driving against traffic in the middle of quite heavy traffic. A police officer is also seen trying to stop the vehicle.
In the video, the police officer appears to be firing a pistol into the air as a warning for the car to stop.
However, instead of stopping, the driver of the car continued to accelerate and crashed into several other vehicles, from motorcycles to cars.
The driver’s actions angered residents in the area. Residents were seen chasing the car while hitting it with helmets.
The Head of the Central Jakarta Metropolitan Police, Kombes Reynold Hutagalung, said that the driver was driving recklessly and against traffic because he was found to be using fake license plates. He said that the driver immediately fled when he was about to be stopped by officers.
“He was suspected of using fake license plates on Jalan Gunung Sahari, so he was stopped by traffic officers Aiptu Basri and Aipda Jimber,” said Reynold.
“So he was afraid and fled, then entered Jalan Gunung Sahari and drove against traffic from south to north,” he added.