Pertamina’s West Java region spokesperson Yudi Nugraha said the incident was purely a criminal act, admitting the suspects managed to get through the firm’s regular inspections.

“This [offense] was beyond our anticipation. Frankly speaking, we are disappointed since this case was due to our oversight. We have done our utmost to maintain excellent service by assigning a special unit to ensure fuel supply and customer satisfaction, but even so, this cheating has happened,” Yudi was quoted by tribunnews.com as saying on Tuesday.

Yudi quoted the reports from the firm's sales representative overseeing the station, which indicated no violations in its previous inspection.

“We conduct checks on all pumps and gasoline measuring equipment once either every six months or every year,” Yudi said, adding that inspections involved the Meteorology Agency, Pertamina’s inspector as well as Pertamina’s contracted third-party inspector.

According to Yudi, the suspects used a remote control, which connects to the gasoline measuring equipment, so that they could pump less fuel than shown on the meter's reading.

Going forward, Yudi said, Pertamina would cooperate with the Jakarta Police to conduct random checks on gas stations.

The fraudulent scheme was uncovered after the police followed up some tip-offs from the public. A police investigation found that the gas valves at the station were illegally equipped with remote-controlled regulators that could slow or speed up the flow of petrol into people’s vehicles.

Police have arrested five suspects in the scandal.  They could face six to eight years in prison. (dmr)

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