Street vendors cheated out of income and stalls

Street vendors cheated out of income and stalls

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Eighty two street vendors operating near Jatinegara Railway
Station in East Jakarta filed a complaint with East Jakarta
Police on Tuesday, after being cheated out of Rp 3.8 million
(US$380).

The unfortunate street vendors -- who were accompanied by
their lawyer from the Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta), Azas Tigor
Nainggolan -- were promised permanent kiosks by Daeng Maulana --
who claimed to be the area coordinator for street vendors -- by
paying Rp 1.5 million for a four-square-meter kiosk.

To their shock, they not only lost their money but also had
their makeshift stalls demolished by the City Public Order Agency
last Friday.

Saiman, a 63-year-old street vendor selling second-hand shoes,
groaned that he had paid Rp 500,000 as downpayment for the
promised kiosk.

"I was swindled. I had already paid Rp 2 million for five
kiosks," complained another vendor.

Daeng, who is still at large, managed to deceive the vendors
by providing fake documents bearing the signature of the mayor of
East Jakarta and an official stamp of the mayoralty.

The East Jakarta chapter of the Coordinating Body of
Indonesian Muslim Youth (Bakopmi) was also involved in the crime
as it had jointly issued fake tickets bearing the mayoralty stamp
to the vendors. Each vendor had paid Rp 1,000 for the tickets to
Daeng every day for the past two months.

Tigor pointed out that the crime occurred because of the city
administration's poor and inconsistent policy in dealing with the
capital's street vendors.

"As the administration has failed to regulate areas for street
vendors to conduct their business, they feel uncertain about
their future. The lack of regulation has led to widespread
collusion and corruption," he said.

Comr. Napoleon Bonaparte, chief of the control division of
East Jakarta Police, said Daeng would be charged under Criminal
Code No. 263 and 372 respectively.

"Our detectives are currently tracking down the suspect's
whereabouts," he said.