The Jakarta Police have urged ride-hailing companies to add an emergency system to their apps to prevent criminal incidents involving ride-hailing drivers from taking place.

“We need an SOS system in ride-hailing apps,” West Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Hengki Haryadi said on Thursday as reported by tempo.co.

He said the police wanted an emergency system to be introduced following a recent criminal incident in which a GrabCar passenger was robbed and trapped in a ride-hailing vehicle for seven hours on her way from her house in Tambora, West Jakarta, to her office in Tanah Abang, Central Jakarta.

He also said the operators of ride-hailing apps should develop a system that prevents fraudsters from posing as a driver.

On Thursday, the Jakarta Police shot dead the alleged mugger of the female GrabCar customer.

Hengki said the suspect borrowed his step father’s GrabCar vehicle and used his account to pose as a ride-hailing driver.

Jakarta Citizens Forum head Azas Tigor Nainggolan said the police should be tougher in holding ride-hailing companies accountable for crimes involving their drivers.

Grab Indonesia managing director Ridzki Kramadibrata said the company had cooperated with the police during the investigation and urged Grab users to file reports to the police or the company's customer hotline +6221-8064-8777 or email [email protected] if they received unwanted treatment from their drivers. (ami)