Shoot on the Spot: A Solution or a Violation?

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — The debate over harsher measures against begal perpetrators has resurfaced after Ahmad Sahroni, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives’ Commission III, urged police to shoot begal perpetrators on the spot. The request follows a rise in begal cases across various regions, from Makassar and Lampung to Jakarta. ‘This is also a concern, because it is not limited to one area, for example in Makassar. I have said that they should be shot on the spot,’ Sahroni said at the DPR building in Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, 18 May 2026. ‘But there are parties who argue this is not good. This is very good because it provides safety and comfort to residents wherever they are,’ he added. ‘Therefore, I am telling all Polda (regional police) to respond with firm action, namely shooting on the spot,’ Sahroni added. The idea emerges amid rising begal cases that have even caused fatalities.

One involved a police officer, Brigadier Arya Supena (32), in Lampung. He was shot dead by begal perpetrators when he surprised a motor theft in the yard of a shop in Bandar Lampung, Saturday morning (9/5/2026). In Binjai, North Sumatra, a high school student named Yudha also became a victim of begal while on his way to school on Monday (11/5/2026). He resisted, but the attackers struck using a parang (machete) until both of his hands were severely injured and his motorcycle was stolen.

Meanwhile in Jakarta, begal and motorcycle theft have been reported as widespread, especially in West Jakarta over the past month. The perpetrators’ modus operandi ranged from snatching motorcycles on deserted roads to daytime robberies in public areas. In Kebon Jeruk, a gang even pointed a weapon believed to be a pistol and fired during a motorbike theft in front of a food stall. ’I stepped out, “Oi, what are you doing?” He immediately pointed a pistol at me, telling me to “be quiet, be quiet, be quiet,” the victim Alif (25) said. In another location, Jalan Arjuna Selatan, the victim also suffered violence after being kicked down into a culvert before the motorcycle and belongings were seized by perpetrators armed with a celurit (sickle).