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Jakarta Post

Police allegedly beat student for dangerous driving warning

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so the saying goes

Slamet Susanto (The Jakarta Post)
Yogyakarta
Wed, August 25, 2010

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Police allegedly beat student for dangerous driving warning

The road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so the saying goes.

A motorist in Yogyakarta learned this the hard way recently when he was beaten by police after reprimanding an officer who was allegedly using his cell phone while riding a motorcycle.

Mashono Rio Kertonegoro, a 21-year-old resident of Piyungan, Bantul regency, ended up in Hidayatullah Hospital with bruises and injuries to the back of his head, legs, hands and more.

“I’ll take this case to court,” Mashono, a law student of Ahmad Dahlan University in Yogyakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, he filed his case to the university’s legal aid center, which will represent him in court.
Mashono said the incident took place on Saturday while he was travelling along Jl. Wonosari in
Yogyakarta.

Mashono said he had almost fallen off his motorcycle while trying to avoid a policeman on a motorcycle, who was likely texting with his cell phone.

“The policeman was busy with his cell phone, and didn’t realize that his motorcycle had veered into the middle of the road,” Mashono said.

“He came close to colliding with me, and almost made me fall off.”

Mashono said he reprimanded the officer spontaneously.

The officer, meanwhile, had a different story, saying he was not using his cell phone but checking the time.

Marshono reported the case to an officer at a nearby traffic police unit checking passing vehicles.

“I was following the police and, ‘never send text messages while riding’,” Mashono said.

“The policeman endangered other road users and violated the 2009 Traffic Law. That’s why I reported the case to the officer in charge of the traffic operation,” he said.

However, the policeman told his version of the story to the officer. Marshono then argued that the officer did not need to look at his cell phone to check the time since he was wearing a watch.

His argument, which he made while pointing at the officers’ watch, apparently upset the other officers at the unit.

“I was suddenly hit from behind by the police. Others then came over and hit me. They ganged up on me,” Mashono said.

He estimated he was assaulted by between five and eight policemen during the incident.

Marshono’s father, Sahana, reported the case to Piyungan Police station, but the case was subsequently taken over by Bantul Police.

“All the files for this case were taken by Bantul Police,” Piyungan Police chief Adj. Comr. Darmawan said.

Bantul traffic police chief Adj. Comr. Fero Aria confirmed that the case involving an officer in his unit was being investigated by Bantul Police.

“We will handle this case in stages, following the procedure,” Fero said.

Many countries have imposed strict laws against the use of cellular phones by motorists.

While there is no data on traffic accidents caused by cellular phone use while driving, police have estimated that around 70 percent of the 7,000 traffic accidents reported in Jakarta last year were caused by human error, including reckless use of cell phones on the road.

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