South Jakarta Transportation Agency Nabs Four Illegal Parking Attendants in Blok M Square

The South Jakarta Transportation Agency has conducted a sting operation against four people suspected of operating as illegal parking attendants in the Blok M Square area, Kebayoran Baru. “We have secured four suspected illegal parking attendants,” said Head of the South Jakarta Transportation Agency, Bernad Octavianus Pasaribu, in Jakarta on Tuesday. During the operation, officers detained four individuals suspected of carrying out illegal parking practices around Blok M Square. They were apprehended for allegedly conducting parking activities without an official permit.

After being detained, the four individuals were taken using a Social Agency operational vehicle to the South Jakarta Mayor’s Office to undergo data collection and further examination. Based on initial investigations, Bernad revealed that the four individuals were not part of a network or under the coordination of any particular parking attendant group. They admitted to operating independently as illegal parking attendants. “I interviewed them directly, they seem to have taken the initiative themselves to become illegal parking attendants. So they are not coordinated parking attendants,” he said.

Bernad explained that economic reasons were the main factor driving them to engage in illegal parking. According to him, the perpetrators saw an opportunity from vehicles needing parking space and subsequently received money from motorists using their services. Although carried out on personal initiative, these actions are still categorised as violating regulations in force in the Jakarta area. “Because they saw an opportunity to park vehicles, someone gave them money and they accepted it. But it is still a violation of the Public Order Regional Regulation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Head of the Protection, Security, and Social Rehabilitation Section of the South Jakarta Social Sub-Agency, Yan Vetansyah, said his party had also participated in data collection for the four individuals caught in the operation. In addition to data collection, the Social Sub-Agency also provided guidance and persuasive education so that they would not return to activities that violate regulations in public spaces. Yan added that the four detained parking attendants were required to make a stamped declaration letter as a form of commitment not to repeat their actions in the future. “After we collected their data and they made the statement, we sent the four parking attendants home,” he said.