'Taxi drivers should train for self-defense'

'Taxi drivers should train for self-defense'

JAKARTA (JP): City police are advocating that taxi drivers be
given martial arts lessons to help the drivers protect themselves
from possible attacks.

"We would be happy to train the drivers," city police
spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said yesterday.

Taxi drivers in the city have expressed their concern with the
recent spate of robberies that have ended in the deaths of some
of their colleagues.

Slamet Riyadi of President Taxi said the alarms installed in
their cars, which are designed to send an SOS message to passing
taxis, are of no help at all.

"How could I reach the button if the robber has already put a
sickle around my neck?" he asked.

According to police data, at least four taxi drivers were
robbed and brutally killed by their passengers this year. The
last two incidents occurred this month.

The first victim this year was Abdullah, 35, from the Hera
Utama taxi company. His decomposing body was found on Feb. 6 in
the bushes behind a cinema in the Jatiuwung village of Tangerang,
30 kilometers west of here. His body was riddled with stab
wounds, while his vehicle and wallet were missing.

The second was Dede Kuswara, 47, from the Centris firm. He was
found dead in his taxi with 30 stab wounds to the body on the
Cikampek-Bekasi expressway on June 1. His wallet was also
missing.

Early this month, Sirjon Naibaho, 37, from the Dian Taksi
company, was found dead 200 meters away from his vehicle in Duren
Sawit, East Jakarta. The third victim, found on July 4, suffered
several stab wounds to the throat, face and stomach. His wallet
was also missing.

The latest victim was identified as Maryani, 40, from the Maya
Kencana firm. His body was blue when it was found. Police believe
that the two wounds on his neck were inflicted by a poisoned
dagger. He was found in his taxi parked on Jl. Raya Tawakal in
Grogol, West Jakarta, on July 5.

In several interviews with The Jakarta Post, drivers from
several taxi companies have said that they have trouble
differentiating legitimate passengers from would-be robbers.

"I was robbed twice but still can't tell them apart from real
passengers," said Slamet.

In the first incident, Slamet was robbed and hit in the neck
by a group of two well-dressed men and a woman. He regained
consciousness a few hours later.

According to a Blue Bird taxi driver, who asked not to be
named, the safest way to avoid trouble is to wait for a pick-up
call from the company. (bsr)