Pipe down: Police officers inspect a car that is equipped with a siren and a rotator halogen lamp in Jakarta on Monday. Police began to crack down on the illegal equipment in private cars following a deluge of public complaints.(Courtesy of TMC Polda Metro)

Rikwanto said it was illegal for civilians to install such features on their cars as other motorists could mistake them for police or military officers, precisely the result the owners of the cars were aiming for.

'€œTheir motive [for installing such features], as you might expect, is to force other motorists to move aside in traffic congestion so that they can have a smooth drive,'€ he said.

He said the six cars were a Volkswagen Tiguan, a Nissan X-Trail, a Kijang, a Hummer, an Isuzu Panther and a double-cabin pickup vehicle the make of which was unspecified.

Rikwanto added that the six cars had various colors of light bars installed '€” red, blue and yellow.

He said that according to regulations, red lights were used on vehicles owned by the Indonesian Military (TNI), firefighters and the Indonesian Red Cross; blue lights on National Police vehicles; and yellow lights on toll-road patrol vehicles.

'€œThe drivers of the six cars could be jailed for a month or fined Rp 250,000 [US$21],'€ he said.

Separately, Traffic Police law enforcement unit chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hindarsono said that one of the drivers even had a fake police ID card. '€œA 20-year-old male driver had a fake National Police ID card that he bought online for Rp 550,000,'€ Hindarsono said.

He added that the police would also investigate online shops selling fake IDs. '€œThe police will firmly deal with such shops.'€

Rikwanto did not specify where the six got the National Police logos for their license plates.

Motorists have often complained that vehicles equipped with rotator light bars, sirens and police stickers, whether real or not, drive haphazardly and are given special treatment by traffic police.

One motorist, Ilham Wahyu, 26, said that several times he had witnessed traffic police giving such vehicles special treatment even after their drivers had violated traffic rules. '€œOnce I saw a traffic police officer let a car with a police sticker travel through a Transjakarta lane but stop and ticket the car behind it,'€ he said.

Meanwhile, Adi Lazuardi, also 26, said that some months ago he and his friend came across a slow-moving car with a military logo on its license plate when they were riding a motorcycle. The vehicle'€™s driver got angry when they tried to overtake it. '€œThe driver revved his engine several times,'€ he said.

Adi said that even though he was not sure whether the car belonged to a military officer or a civilian using a fake logo, he did not want any problem, so he reduced his speed.

'€œI'€™ve heard some people use fake stickers to prevent others from stealing their cars. However, most of them misuse them on the road,'€ he said.

Indonesian Police Watch (IPW) chairman Neta S. Pane said that although the police conducted routine raids, they had not taken serious action. '€œSuch checks are seasonal and the police are unlikely to do them for longer than a week or two,'€ he said.

Neta said that if the police wanted to put a stop to the issue, they should start by taking action against those selling the features. (dwa/idb)

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