'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)