What a shocking phone bill

YOGYAKARTA (JP): Sugeng, a 55-year-old carpenter-masseur from Baciro village, was shocked to receive a mobile phone bill for more than Rp 11 million (US$3,235). Sugeng has never even held a mobile.

"My father never had a telephone let alone a mobile. How come he was charged such a huge amount for phone calls?" Wahyuni, 18, Sugeng's daughter, wanted to know.

Wahyuni told the Yogyakarta branch of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute yesterday that his father panicked after receiving a bill amounting to Rp 11,123,020 for a mobile phone listed with provider PT Metro Selular Nusantara with the number 082 274 6034.

Sugeng's identity might have been used by an unscrupulous individual to subscribe to the provider. Wahyuni said that a man who identified himself as Gostar had once borrowed his father's ID card.

Sugeng said he would not pay the bill. "How can I be charged for a phone I have never owned?"

Sugeng decided to seek legal protection from the Yogyakarta legal aid office, which followed up by setting up a team to handle the case. "We are ready to defend Bapak Sugeng and fight for his rights," said lawyer Winarso from the legal aid office. (23/akm)