Not enough
I sat in a Blue Bird taxi in Jakarta and we stopped at red light. To our right was a police car with four uniformed officers. “Here comes the corruption squad”, I thought. How prophetic that turned out to be.
I had changed a 1,000 baht bill in the hotel reception before going out. I got 250,000 rupiah for that. I considered changing more but it should be enough for the evening at the gay disco.
One of the policemen turned and looked at me from their car. And another one looked at me too. It appeared they were talking about me.
I did not think any more of this as the light turned green and the taxi continued. But soon after my driver made a sound of surprise or amusement and he turned his head and looked at something to the right. A while after he looked at something to the left. It was the police car. It was driving alongside of the taxi. The cops were looking at me again.
I still didn’t see that this could have anything to do with me. But the driver made his surprised sound again, looked in the rear mirror and stopped the taxi. When I turned to look the police car was behind us.
This was in the middle of Jakarta, near the Welcome Statue and the big fountain.
I thought the cops wanted to check my taxi driver. A policeman came and took the driver out of the taxi and aside. Then another policeman came over to my door and opened it. He was young, probably under 30, with a shaven head. His English was excellent.
- ID check, said the policeman. - Is everything OK sir?
- Yes sir I am fine, I said.
By now I was beginning to see where this could lead. The policeman remained standing outside the taxi with the door open and I remained seated inside. This was smart of him as otherwise he could feel intimidated by my sheer height and bulk.
I handed him a photo ID. It was my Farangland bank card, with Visa on the front and my ID on the back. The policeman looked at it. He asked what I was doing in Indonesia, how long I would stay and which hotel I used. (Translation: how much are you worth?)
- Your passport? asked the policeman.
- It is in my hotel, I said.
- You have to carry your passport at all times, said the policeman. - This is very important.
- Yes sir thank you sir, I said.
- So you made a mistake, said the policeman.
He paused for effect.
- Would you like to go to my hotel so I can get the passport? I asked.
- No sir. We would go to the police station and the hotel would bring the passport to the station.
(Translation: we will keep you all night till you mellow)
Another pause for effect.
The policeman stood there, holding my ID card. The driver had returned to his seat but he did not speak or turn his head.
- So you made a mistake, repeated the policeman.
Another pause.
I had read about these situations and knew I was supposed to volunteer.
- Can I pay a fine? I asked. (Translation: to save face we must never call it a bribe)
- How much? asked the policeman, now without any pause or hesitation.
- I don’t have much, I said.
I took out my wallet and held up a 100,000 rupiah bill. (= 10 US dollars).
- Not enough, said the policeman.
I took out more money, 50,000 bills. I counted. 150,000, 200,000, 250,000.
- Not enough, said the policeman again.
- It is all I have, I said.
The policeman stared at the remaining contents of my wallet.
- Any dollars? he asked.
I grabbed the rest of my money from the wallet and slammed it on my lap. It was an angry move which made a slapping sound and I told myself I should not lose my temper.
- This is a 20 baht bill, I said. - From Thailand. And this is 100 baht, and this is 1,000 rupiah bill and a 5,000 bill.
I had lots of small money from Thailand.
- Dollar? asked the cop again.
- I don’t have any, I said.
All my cash was spread out on my lap.
- Well, it is not enough, said the policeman.
- All right, I said. - So we go to the station.
I had held the 250,000 rupiah in my hand and now I put everything back in my wallet.
- OK, said the policeman. - Give me that.
I gave him the 250,000.
The policeman closed the door and went back to the police car.
- F***ING CORRUPT BASTARDS! I yelled. - SO THEY WANT TOURISTS IN THIS COUNTRY? WHAT DO TOURISTS THINK OF THIS?
The driver held his head down and didn’t reply. I think he was ashamed on behalf of Indonesia.
- Go back to the hotel please, I said.
- Back to hotel? asked the driver.
- Yes. They took all my money.
We drove on. Once more the police car came up on the side of my taxi. The officer who took my money looked at me. I looked at him. I was thinking “Allah saw that and you will burn in hell, you corrupt pig”. I wondered if it showed on my face. It probably did.
Back at the hotel I told the reception boy what had happened to the 250,000 rupiah he had given me half an hour earlier.
- You mean just now? asked the receptionist.
- Yes. The cops took everything I had.
- I am sorry, said the receptionist and looked down.
I began to rant about corrupt cops and how to treat tourists again but stopped. There was no point and the locals looked like they were suffering when I did it.
I went to my room and got another 1,000 baht bill from my bag. I had 200 US dollars in Thai money in my room. Lucky I didn’t carry that in my wallet or my friend the corrupt pig would be the owner of it by now.
I realised it was not safe to keep cash in my room. But I thought it was best to keep money in two places, some in the wallet and some in the room. If one of my cash piles became lost I would have the other one.
Adding to complications was that the ATMs in Jakarta were unreliable. Most of them appeared not to be connected to the international network and only accepted local cards. Last time in Jakarta I had ran around town trying to find an ATM which could give me money. So I needed to have some cash at hand.
I complained about the incident to Farang Z, who lives in Jakarta.
- Don’t worry, said Farang Z. - They are only looking to supplement their meagre income. Soon it is Ramadan and they are desperate. I usually give them 100,000 rupiah and they are happy.
Maybe they are happy to get that from Farang Z. But he works at an embassy and has diplomatic immunity. They can’t touch him.
What regards mere mortals like me I had the feeling they would have taken 200 dollars if I had it, or any amount really. It was only when I called his bluff and said we could go to the station that he settled for what I had.
Carrying a passport or not was not the issue, of course. If I had had my passport he would have come up with something else. And he had not originally asked for passport, only ID. It doesn’t matter. They just want money.
—
This was my first bribe. Even in Cambodia I have never paid off anyone. Instead I have lied through my teeth to them. Visa run? Me? Not at all, sir. I am going to Angkor to see the temples, sir.
I was so angry it took me hours to cool down. I found it creepy how they had stalked me through Jakarta traffic. I have heard (in Thailand) about foreigners getting caught up in raids, but this was going a step further. Thai cops have something to learn from the Indonesians. See a foreigner in a taxi? Go after him! Shake him down for whatever he is worth.
Tags: bribe, corruption, Indonesia, Jakarta, police
xxx
August 20th, 2008 at 11:26 am
I’m always surprised to read of shake downs like this.
I shouldn’t be at all. I have witnessed the cops in action. But they were at a proper distance and I nothing more than passing pedestrian, minding my own business, without a direct stake in the transaction across the street, or in the alley, or at the border.
But it unnerves me all the same, because the proper distance can shrink quite quickly with one solid shove on the back. And suddenly you are in their orbit of influence.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
I hope you’re ok Silom. May all who abuse their power rot in hell.
August 20th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I’d rather be shaken down that set up.
August 20th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
It happens in Malaysia as well, I think it is worse because they ask for a bigger amount. Sometimes the policeman are the thieves / robbers themseleves, part time robbers full time policemen.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
does that mean no more Jakarta for you, we haven’t heard any juicy stories
August 20th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
haha… you picked the right picture for this post. Ugly as.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
puuh. at least you was not in a police station for hours and hours to answer useless questions of these so called officers. i cant imagine how hard it must be to stay calm in that situation you write about.. but at least you are free and not completeley burned after this…such things should never happen, but when, they often end up not so lucky.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I like to scan through websites like wikitravel before going anywhere… so I can be prepared for crap like this. It has saved me from many scams.
From Wikitravel (Jakarta entry):
“Police are largely useless when it comes to crime prevention, and may attempt to extract bribes from any foreigners (the going rate for not having your passport with you is Rp. 50,000). “
August 20th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
I can’t believe even people working at embassies get “fined”
August 20th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
My boyfriend, who is Akha, took his younger brother across the border to Tachilek. After they returned to Thailand, they were stopped by cops at a roadblock, and my boyfriend was absurdly charged with “bringing illegal aliens into Thailand.” This despite the younger brother’s Thai nationality, the testimony of the village headman, etc. etc. It was just a matter of the strong smelling money and victimizing the weak. Five thousand baht to get out of their clutches.
Funny…when I’m driving the car, the cops always wave me through “No problem” even though I don’t have a Thai driver’s license….Nope. Farangs might make trouble, might write a letter to the editor. They’re looking for Thai — or, more especially, “non-Thai” who are young and definitely not phuu yai.
SF, you didn’t get the names of any of those cops, did you?
August 20th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Do you mean that you were a virgin?
I would have thought by now you would be quite experienced with police shake downs…
You should go to the Phillippines they are quite creative!
It only hurts the first time……
August 20th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
I really don’t know how you can exact your revenge on these morons, except by telling your story, as you have done. I think it helps to write about it in a newspaper too, such as those in Thailand, or Malaysia, or Singapore, (or all three). Someone in the Indonesian embassy will notice it, and maybe other unfortunates will relay their own experiences, and there will be a loss of face, which as you know is a big deal in Asia. I think I might have said that I wanted assistance from the British Embassy in Jakarta. Anyway, I’ve only been there once and I thought it was a pretty hideous place, so now I have absolutely no reason to ever go back there again.
August 20th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
wow Silom, you were too generous. The standard question is ‘how much?’. You reply with ‘no, how much?’ then you give 50k, smile friendly, close the door and move on. Alternatively, if he’s cute, take him to your room. And always smile.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:22 pm
I looked for his name tag but could not see it since he stood outside the taxi. I am not sure if he had any.
I considered asking for his name or to see his police ID but I didn’t dare.
As this cop was well aware I was a newbie in Jakarta and hence easy prey.
August 20th, 2008 at 10:46 pm
SCREW THE PIGS!!
August 21st, 2008 at 12:34 am
RE: SCREW THE PIGS!!
No thanks. I’ll stick to Thai boys.
August 21st, 2008 at 1:38 am
One more story which reminds me of my own time “cruising for gay sex on the Internet.”
Every counry I looked at had serious problems. Burma — nuff said. Laos — wants to be gay, but has to deal with this stupid government. Cambodia — dangerous, and full of mines and beggars. Vietnam — a bit more sophisticated — you might actually get “set up” there, and then have to deal with greedy Communist officials who don’t give a sh*t about the boy.
And I concluded, once more, that living in Chiang Mai was better than all of the alternatives. I don’t think you can fob it off as being “oriental” or “Buddhist” — it has very much to do with being Thai.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:55 am
Publicise this scam as much as you can.
Vote with your money & go elsewhere in future.
It’s put me off going there for a while.
August 21st, 2008 at 9:58 am
Sure, go to the Philippines! There they might kill you. Thailand is heading in the same direction and has been for some time. The worst is yet to come for farang in Thailand and you can mark my words.
Anyway, you are already a blind and willing victim of your BF but you suffer under the illusion that the cops are different from him. You will learn SF. Every day the noose tightens but so slowly you don’t notice until your air is totally cut off. Be patient. Your end will come soon.
August 21st, 2008 at 12:26 pm
That (above) is a bleak outlook
August 21st, 2008 at 4:35 pm
Remind me never to have a drink with Deutschland Farang!!!
August 21st, 2008 at 6:05 pm
People have been complaining about Thailand not being what it used to be for at least a hundred years. Just think, we COULD go back to the 1880’s, and see the REAL Siam, and watch the corpses pile up during one of the extremely common epidemics of cholera, typhus, etc.
August 21st, 2008 at 7:09 pm
SF, I think you should have hopped out of the car. Your size would quite likely have changed the dynamic… initmidated monkeys don’t throw their weight around.
August 21st, 2008 at 8:22 pm
Jesus, Deutschland Farang is like the grim reaper
August 22nd, 2008 at 7:19 am
I was travelling in a taxi with my friend another farang from Farangland. He happens to be a Farnang Police officer. We were stopped by the Thai Police who wanted some ‘financial assistance’. It was so amusing as my friend produced his Farang Police ID. The local Police immediately backed off, there was much whistleblowing, high Wai’s and traffic at an intersection was stopped to assist our departure. The taxi driver thought this was hilarious of course and laughed for the entire journey!!!!
September 1st, 2008 at 11:23 pm
oh shucks! thats crazy!
thats why I love Philippines, they arent that corrupt