Truck drivers protest levies

MAROS, South Sulawesi: Hundreds of truck drivers in Maros, 30 kilometers north of the provincial capital of Makassar, have complained about illegal levies allegedly demanded by police, who claimed to be carrying out routine operations.

Drivers plying the Palopo-Makassar route said police requested between Rp 5,000 and Rp 15,000 every time they stopped and searched the trucks.

"It's too much! I can spend Rp 30,000 just taking this route," one of the drivers, Sudirman, told The Jakarta Post.

Sudirman said he was once pulled over by police who said that his truck's back tires were bald. "Knowing I only had Rp 2,000 in my pocket, the police ticketed me instead and the court fined me Rp 30,000," he said.

Police were not available for comment. When asked about the matter, local City Land Transportation Agency chief A. Ansyar Syarif replied: "It's not us who take such levies." (27/edt)