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Ahok unhappy about prison sentence for Transjakarta driver
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Passengers wait in line at Transjakarta bus shelters in Dukuh Atas, Central Jakarta, in this file photo taken on Nov. 14, 2015. (the jakarta post/Wienda Parwitasari)
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akarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama has questioned the two-and-a-half year prison sentence issued by West Jakarta District Court judges to a Transjakarta bus driver who hit motorcycle riders traveling in special bus lanes.
Ahok urged bus operator PT Bianglala Metropolitan (BMP) to file an appeal for Bima Pringgas Suara, the driver.
"I hope the judges will understand that bus drivers can't be found guilty if they hit anyone who enters into a busway. If the Supreme Court decides in this way, it will set a precedent for the future," Ahok told journalists on Monday.
The judges declared Bima guilty and sentenced him to prison following the accident involving a motorist passing the bus lane near the Jakarta Kota Station in West Jakarta in November last year. The accident killed Siauw Njuk Siu, 63, who was traveling as a passenger on the motorcycle. Siauw fell from the motorcycle driven Hendri Setiawan, 34, and was hit by the bus.
There are no traffic laws regulating busways, Ahok said, despite the fact that busways are set aside for Transjakarta buses only.
Meanwhile, BMP director Ibnu said the company had not yet decided to file an appeal.
Separately, Transportation Agency head Andri Yansyah also urged the Public Works and Public Housing Ministry's road construction and maintenance section, Bina Marga, to install movable concrete barriers in 12 Transjakarta corridors across the capital. The installation of the barriers could stop vehicles from entering the lanes and prevent similar such accidents from taking place in the future, he said. (rin)
