Silver Man in Central Lombok Detained for Endangering Motorists

The Central Lombok Civil Service Police Unit (Satpol PP) has detained a man working as a ‘manusia silver’ (silver man). The man was apprehended while begging at the Yanmu T-junction in the Ketejer neighbourhood, Praya District, Central Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB).

Head of Central Lombok Satpol PP, Zaenal Mustakim, revealed that the silver man’s activities were disrupting traffic flow and endangering motorists. “The detention was carried out by on-duty personnel conducting routine patrols around the city,” he told detikBali on Thursday (2/7/2026).

Zaenal explained that his agency has detained this particular silver man several times before. He stated that these silver men originate from outside Lombok Island.

According to Zaenal, the silver men frequently operate at various road intersections. Some of them are said to use the money earned from begging to purchase alcoholic beverages.

“There are not many of them. Around a dozen. The money is for their living needs, and some also use it to buy alcohol,” Zaenal said.

In addition to detaining the silver man, officers also took action against several mobile coffee vendors who were stationed in front of SMAN 1 Praya. The enforcement was carried out by confiscating the vendors’ umbrellas.

“This firm action was taken because the vendors had been given several warnings, yet they continued to trade at that location,” he stated.