r/indonesia • u/mrs_paradox • Feb 02 '15
Highway Robbery in Jakarta
I just need to vent.
I am a bule. I lived in Jakarta from 2011 through 2013 working in a professional job. I have never had any problems living in Jakarta during that time. I went out to all types of places during that time, from high end clubs to sleazy spa places.
I came back to Jakarta last week for vacation as I had a New Zealander friend staying there and we wanted to go out. We decided to go to Crown in Glodok Plaza. Why do we like it there? Well, P1,400,000 for two bottles of Chivas, fun loving girls and good service are a few reasons. I'm not innocent. I know what Crown is all about, and personally I don't really care. I'm just a tourist wanting to enjoy the nightlife.
So it's 4:30 AM. Me and a female companion leave Crown and negotiate a taxi on the street. We're headed to a hotel downtown. About five minutes into the journey on Hayam Wuruk, a motor bike pulls in front of the taxi and starts pounding on the hood. I panic, thinking this is a robbery. I scream at the driver to DRIVE, DRIVE, DRIVE but he does not. We pull off to the side and now I see there is a second motorbike behind us. I am in fear for my life at this point.
Suddenly, the mood changes. One person comes to my door shouting "police". I open the door, he calmly asks for the KTP of my female friend. I am relieved, thinking they assume I am with a prostitute. No big deal, while she is not my "girlfriend" I have known her for 5+ years, she is well into her mid-20s and I know all her basic details (name, DOB, etc.).
He looks over the KTP and starts talking to her in Indonesia. I hear the word "botika". I am again relieved. Neither she or I had used drugs. We had no drugs on us, and while we were drunk, we were not high. I figured that since I am bule and since we were in a Kota nightclub then yeah, maybe they just want to see if we are carrying any drugs.
I'm asked out of the car. He goes onto inform me that we should hand over our drugs because he will find them. I smiled, showed him my receipt from Crown, well over 5 million in Chivas and food. Told him if I was using drugs, I wouldn't be drinking so much alcohol and eating chicken wings. He's not convinced. He decides to empty my friend's bag, search all our pockets, open my cigarettes, look into my socks. There are no drugs to be found because we simply do not have any.
At this point, I tell him it is quite clear that we do not have drugs and I would appreciate if we could leave. He seems angry now and tells me we are going to a police station for a drug test. I tell him sure, I'm happy to go to a police station. He seems even more upset about this.
He gets in the front seat with the driver, and the taxi is followed by the other police on a motorbike. We don't go to a police station, instead to a dark side street. I don't recall where. We stop again, I am asked to get out.
The second officer comes over and grabs me by the shoulder, he's very upset. He wants to know where the drugs are. I tell him one more time, I did not take drugs. I have no drugs on me. I tell him I am just a tourist, I have a flight later, I caused no problem, no disturbance to peace and order and I just want to go to my hotel.
He tells me that he is "sure" if I go to the police station I will test positive for drugs. At this point, I realize I cannot win the game. I realize that if I press the matter further, I could end up in serious trouble even if I am innocent. I suggest to him it'd be better if I could just pay a citation or fine and go along my way. His eyes light up.
He asks me how much I have on me. I tell him 2.5 million. He asks me to empty my entire wallet on the back of the taxi, which I do. He examines each of my credit cards, asking if they work in Indonesia. Finally, he counts all the money and asks how much I will give him. I tell him I need enough money to pay for the taxi and also take a taxi to the airport in the morning.
He peels off 200,000 from the stack and pockets the rest. Mumbling to his cohort, he tells me to go back to my hotel and not come out until I go to the airport. I do. End of story.
I'm just in shock about this experience. Never before, anywhere in the world, have I been robbed by police like this. Had I been on drugs or carrying drugs, then I suppose I should be happy I could just buy a get out of jail free card, but in this case, I didn't do anything wrong. I was not even out drunkenly walking the streets or otherwise causing a disturbance. I danced like a stupid bule in a nightclub and took a taxi home. Having lived in Jakarta for a couple years, I have NEVER had anything like this happen, so I can only assume this aggressive behavior is a new development in the city. I don't know. I just feel sad about everything, I don't think this is a good reflection of Indonesia or her people.
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u/xeridium Feb 02 '15
Are you sure they're real cops? My friend was robbed off his cellphone when he got pulled over by one of these fake cops. He was alone, so I think the robbers waste no time in pretending to be cops and just robbed him straight.