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Police detain four after violent public transportation protest
Police have detained four people out of 83 people, who were arrested on Tuesday, following the violent demonstration by about 10,000 drivers of public transportation to protest the operation of ride-hailing applications.
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Thousands of taxi drivers stopped their vehicles on Jl. Gatot Subroto in South Jakarta in an effort to block the road during a demonstration to protest the operation of ride-hailing apps on Tuesday. They claim that the operation of app-based public transportation is illegal. (thejakartapost.com/wienda parwitasari)
P
olice have detained four of the 83 people who were arrested on Tuesday following a violent protest of 10,000 public transportation drivers against the operation of ride-hailing apps.
Those four have been accused of committing violence during the protest, said head of the Jakarta City Police detective and criminal division Sr. Comr. Krishna Murti on Wednesday.
“One of the four people has been named as a suspect,” said Krishna, adding that the suspect had been charged with vandalism and attack as stipulated under article 170 of Criminal Code and also with ignoring the police call to disburse from the crowd under Article 218 of the Code.
Investigators are questioning the other people who were arrested on Tuesday. “We are continuing to investigate the other protesters and will decide whether they are to be named as suspects or not,” Krishna added.
Mobs of protesters, mostly taxi drivers, caused traffic chaos in Jakarta on Tuesday as they parked their vehicles on the roads in protest of what they called unfair competition from ride-hailing apps such as Uber and Grab Car.
It is the second major protest to have been carried out by taxi drivers in Jakarta this month. They claim that competition from ride-hailing apps, which don't face the same costs and rules as regular taxis, has severely reduced their income. Many come to Jakarta from other parts of Indonesia and support their families by working as taxi drivers.
The Transportation Ministry said on Wednesday that ride-hailing apps were illegal because their operation is not in line with the existing Transportation Law. The government is currently seeking a fair solution for both conventional and technology based transportation. (bbn)
