City residents have not started panic buying despite the government's plan to increase fuel prices.
Juni, a supervisor at a gas station on Jl. Jatinegara Timur, East Jakarta, said he had not seen any significant changes in sales.
"We usually sell 30 to 35 tons of gasoline and 6 to 7 tons of diesel fuel a day. The figures have been steady so far," Juni said.
Indrayani, a supervisor at a gas station on Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, said "We sell 100 tons of fuel on a weekday and around 90 tons on weekends. We haven't seen any drastic change yet."
However, both supervisors said they had taken steps to ensure the security of the stations in case of panic buying. Indrayani said she had deployed additional staff, including security guards, to serve customers.
"We won't impose a limit on how much fuel can be bought unless the government says we have to. So we have to be ready to serve the customers," she said.
Juni said security guards were needed in case a riot broke out. He also asked his staff to keep their eyes peeled for any unusual behavior at the station.
He cited a case in which a Kijang van owner filled up his tank with 240 liters. The van, which normally holds 40 to 50 liters of fuel, turned out to have a modified tank. He suspected the van belonged to a group of fuel hoarders.
"I teach my staff about different car tank capacities. If they notice anything strange, they have to report it to me and then I inform the police," he said.
The harbor safeguard police in North Jakarta said it had recorded nine cases of diesel and kerosene misuse from April 29 to May 6. They suspect most of the fuel was sold to industrial companies.
On April 29 the police confiscated one truck containing diesel oil from a quay and another from a warehouse the following day at Tanjung Priok Harbor in North Jakarta.
On May 2, the police found hoarded fuel at PT Yudian Sejahtera's building on Jl. Ketel Uap at the harbor.
"We are still investigating this case and have arrested 16 suspects," head of the harbor police's criminal division Adj. Comr. M. Iqbal said Friday.
He said police investigations found three industrial companies had bought the diesel.
Last month, police arrested an employee of PT Excelcomindo Pratama, the third biggest telecommunications operator in the country, for his alleged involvement in buying subsidized diesel from a cooperative in Tangerang, Banten, to be sold to fishermen.
Iqbal said his division planned to cooperate with city police to guard gas stations and prevent people from hoarding fuels.
"Some of the suspects said they bought the diesel from gas stations. Some of them admitted they stole it from fuel tanks," he said.
Head of the city's mining agency Peni Susanti said her office was yet to launch any programs to anticipate panic buying. She added her office would not put a limit on how much fuel could be bought.
"We want to focus more on the gas conversion program. We believe people will convert to natural gas after the government raises the prices," she said. (ind).
