Three East Jakarta Petrol Station Workers Beaten by Suspected Security Officer After Refusing Subsidised Fuel

Three employees at Petrol Station (SPBU) 3413901 in Cipinang, Pulogadung, East Jakarta, were allegedly assaulted by a man claiming to be a security apparatus member after they refused to fill his vehicle with subsidised Pertalite fuel.

The assault occurred on Sunday evening (22 February) at approximately 22:00 local time.

“That’s correct, three of our employees were allegedly assaulted by a suspected member of the security apparatus,” said Mukhlisin (38), a staff member at SPBU 3413901, when met at the petrol station on Monday.

Mukhlisin explained that the assault began when a customer arrived to fill up with Pertalite. During the barcode scanning process, the vehicle’s registration number matched the system records, but the type of vehicle being used did not correspond with the registered data.

“The customer wanted Pertalite. The barcode number matched, but the vehicle didn’t match the registered details. The rule at the petrol station is that the registration number and vehicle must match the data,” Mukhlisin explained.

In accordance with standard operating procedures, the attendant refused to dispense Pertalite and offered an alternative solution. The customer was directed to fill up with Pertamax instead, which does not use the barcode system.

“If the barcode doesn’t match, we direct them to Pertamax. Since Pertamax doesn’t use a barcode, we can still serve them. For Pertalite, the data must match,” said Mukhlisin.

The refusal triggered the customer’s anger, leading to an incident that culminated in the alleged assault of three petrol station employees.

Three victims

Mukhlisin identified three victims in the incident: one staff member and two operators.

They were Ahmad Khoirul Anam, who had worked approximately five years as a staff member; Lukmanul Hakim, an operator who had only been working for six months after graduating from vocational school; and Abud Mahmudin, an operator with around four years’ service.

“Khoirul Anam was slapped on the cheek. Lukman was punched on the right side of his jaw. Meanwhile, Abud was punched below the eye and on the cheek near his mouth until his teeth became loose,” said Mukhlisin.

At the time of the incident, one operator was on duty, one staff member was present at the location, and another operator who had already finished his shift came outside because of the commotion.

As a result of the incident, all three suffered shock. Although they were not hospitalised, the victims were temporarily given a day off and replaced by other staff.

“They are currently in shock, but are resting at their respective homes,” said Mukhlisin.

One of the victims also claimed the perpetrator threatened to kill him.

The incident went viral on social media via the Instagram account @nestagram. CCTV footage showed a man dressed in black punching, slapping, and pushing the petrol station employees. The man was also seen shouting at and pointing at the employees who had refused the Pertalite filling.

Mukhlisin said the three assaulted employees had formally reported the violence to the police.

Shortly after the report was filed, the Internal Affairs Division (Propam) of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police visited the location to gather information.

“Propam of the Jakarta Metropolitan Police came here earlier at around 16:00 local time to request information regarding the CCTV footage,” he said.

According to Mukhlisin, the police response was swift. After the report was received, the victims were immediately directed to undergo forensic medical examinations at the Police Hospital in Kramat Jati.

“The response was good and immediate. They went straight for forensic examinations at the Police Hospital in Kramat Jati and the case was processed immediately,” said Mukhlisin.

In addition, the Jakarta Metropolitan Police’s Internal Affairs Division also visited the petrol station directly to follow up on the information and video circulating on social media.

Contacted separately, the owner of SPBU 3413901, Ernesta, said she had directly reported the assault on her employees to the Pulogadung Police Station.

“We have also reported it to the Pulogadung Police Station across from the petrol station. My injured employees have also undergone forensic medical examinations,” said Ernesta when contacted separately.