Complaint against Taufik retracted [font=Arial, Helvetica]Evi Mariani, Jakarta Post Jacky Darmawan retracted on Tuesday his complaint submitted to the Jakarta Police against badminton star Taufik Hidayat, who was alleged to have assaulted Jacky, on the same day that Taufik was scheduled for questioning at the Jakarta Police Headquarters. "A letter from Jacky was received by the investigators this morning. We were scheduled to question Taufik today at 10 a.m. but he did not appear," the city police spokesman Sr. Comr. Prasetyo told reporters. "Although Jacky retracted his complaint, the police will still question Taufik because we have to conclude the case, even if we are about to close it," he added, without explaining why Jacky retracted his report. Prasetyo said the police had only questioned Jacky as a witness and it was not enough for them to close the case. "We are sending the second summons for Taufik for questioning scheduled three days from now," he said, adding that Taufik had not informed the police why he was not able to appear for questioning. Police earlier said that Taufik had violated Article 335 and Article 352 of the Criminal Code on unpleasant conduct and minor assault. In his report, Jacky told the police that Taufik hit him and banged the hood of his employer's car, after he hit Taufik's bumper at the entrance to Bung Karno Sports Complex on May 10, during the Thomas and Uber Cup badminton championships. After the scuffle, Jacky immediately filed a complaint with the city police. It was the second time the police had received a complaint on Taufik. Taufik and his father were involved in a scuffle with 20 men over a similar incident in October at the same location.[/font]
These street brawls are quite common in Jakarta. In the olden days, when you hit a becak (bicycle taxi), even though it's not your fault, you can expect being attacked by the other becak drivers around. Like a lynch mob. So it was general knowledge that you should never get out of the car after an accident. If possible, drive away. My cousin once got rear-ended by a car which was backing up from a drive way. The driver from the other car, who was wearing a military outfit, walked over, asked my cousin's chauffeur to lower the window, and subsequently punched the chauffeur out. The streets of Jakarta are like the wild west, lawless, dangerous, survival of the fittest. The worst thing happened to me a few years ago. I was driving in a car downtown Jakarta. A suv in front of me stopped for a red light. I saw a pedestrian walk over, pull out a gun from underneath his shirt, drag the suv driver from the car and disappear in an alley. It was in broad daylight in a crowded street! And don't expect the police to do anything about it. In the same week of that kidnapping incident, my girlfriend and I were pulled over by a motor cop. He said that we drove through a red light, which was definitely not true. He would forget about the whole thing if we paid him the equivalent of US$160. Pretty outrageous because the going bribe rate was about $25 at that time. But well, the cop said that he had to share the loot with 12 other cop friends. The alternative was going to court that carried a higher price tag, so we agreed but told him we didn't have that much money on us. No problem, he said, let's just go to the bank and get the money. My gf's bank was across town, but that was no problem either, he would escort us across town. So we drove for about 45 minutes to the bank (Jakarta traffic is the worst) followed by the cop. The story is not over, though. 2 weeks later, my gf, her mother and I were driving at night. A police car drove next to us. I saw both cops staring at us through the window. When they saw that we were Chinese, they pulled us over without any reason. My gf had to show her papers, which she didn't have. She used to leave the car papers at home and bring a copy in the car. But a copy was not good enough so we had to pay a $50 fine. After we paid up, the cops offered to escort us home to make sure that we're safe. Yeah right. And let them know where we lived? Fat chance. That's my story. After reading about that Taufik incident, it brought back a lot of bad memories.
- Some of my Ina friends tell me that people who have a little bit of money in Ina try to be insconspicuous. This means they live in houses that look like shacks in shanties outwardly but are well equipped inside. The they have 2 cars, one a very ordinary vehicle. Then an expensive make is hidden in the garage, every time the family will gather in the garage, get into the car and the diiver will pretend they are driving away in a holiday by simulation but they never let the car out of the garage.ffor fear. Then it is obvious that in Jakarta people never go out after 5.00pm. It is not really much better in Msia , the only diff is people in Msia are deprived of many opportunities and have to pay a lot of indirect taxes and tribute to the government who distributes it to quell the hungry masses for the sake of peace and quiet.
Hmmm I think it depends on your looks and what are u doin after the accident. And people still give mercy for female driver. I think it's better to go out and "negotiate". People won't kill those who keep staying and finish the problem. But if you show a little sign to runaway, they'll....!@#$%^&*$#@!% For the becak case, I'm afraid if u don't get out from the car, they might burn your car if u cannot runaway and then force u to go out and (maybe) burn u either. Barbaric huh?! It often happens to public drivers. And that's why unlike private drivers, they often ESCAPE to police station after hitting pedestrian because they know what 'punishment' awaits them. I have no idea how could u pay so much for both incidents..... more than Rp 300,000?? You had been squeezed (if not, robbed) and bad luck surely with u that time XP. I'm not sure if the charge is that HIGH?! tsk tsk.... and thanks to God, I never meet mad police like that!! Ummm, why don't u try first to win their mercy by telling good reason, so they cancel the cheats? Some Jakarta residents learn the difference about the usual charges and court charges. So they can't be threatened and fooled by the police. And now if you don't wear safety belt, you may expect be charged for Rp 500,000 or 1 million. >> U$ 100 =P Be careful when u drive in JAKARTA, better slow than sorry. Poor people and police become your enemies.
Suharto's old habits (too many to list here) are hard to break, the key weakness that will hinders INA progress with the rest of growing asia. Oh, i better say something badminton related. Ok, this is also the reason for the gradual deterioration of INA badminton after the asian crisis due to financial, political, etc ineptness. No, I'm not saying INA badminton will go to the dump but i mean its past glory days of all out domination are kinda over (assuming that the current environment and system remain unchange)
- Ah yes, badminton. I think Ina badminton will improve with more international exposure and globalism. Nowadays other than daylight robbery in Jakarta by common thugs and uniformed thugs (also true in SEA) there is a lot of pirates (yes pirates as in Captain Hook) around Straits of Melaka and Sulu Sea. They may be part time army personnel and raid, hijack or kidnap ships passing Straits or Sulu sea.The US navy wanted to send navy units to patrol the area but some of the SEA countries objected profusely fearing that the region could become another Iraq.
- I think other emerging countries will improve even faster with int'l experience and globalism - Pirates, yah, i heard many gross stories of innocent sailors got near that area. - that's what i meant about their ineptness, quashing any outside help in the name of saving face and preserving the status quo. "Fearing becoming another iraq" is a load of craps, this high sea robbery and killing is around for decades. ie, since crooks learn to upgrade their boats from paddle power to motorized boats to take on bigger 'prizes'. I'm sure other asian countries know about this however many travellers outside this region underestimate the cruelty of these crooks - preferred policy is take no prisoners, no evidence is the best policy. If you don't have the minimum artillery power of anti aircraft guns, dont bother going near there. Pistols, submachine guns are underpowered against them. They are well armed.
Ahhh, they may look like OT posts but i think they are really just indirect references to Taufik's incident, indirect reasons why Jacky suddently withdrew his official complaint without reason on Taufik's infraction and indirect comparision how Taufik can defy the law and yet some indonesians are being constantly extorted and held back by the same legal and political system.
To be fair, i should also say that piracy occurs elsewhere too. Other danger regions are South China Sea, waters off Brazil, Bay of Bengal, off Somalia, off Sierra Leone and Nigeria, and in the Caribbean.
Indo is an interesting place, my uncle carries a gun in his car and one time saw a group of "thugs" walking towards his car, he just pulled the gun out the window and pointed it at them and they just turned around..its not that difficult in jkt IMO but its true you need connections and im sure taufik has more than enough backing, plus dont belive everything you read just like in america no matter how official it might sound. All i heard from my friends in jkt is that taufik hit the other car with his hand after taufiks was backed into by the driver..
yeahh that's true.. he hit the car by his hand too. arghh what happen with taufik anyways? does he have any psychology problem?! it isn't his first right? ohh people..come on just stop talking about traffic in my city (yeah I know it's the worse or so.. )
Bbn. It is not really much better in Msia , the only diff is people in Msia are deprived of many opportunities and have to pay a lot of indirect taxes and tribute to the government who distributes it to quell the hungry masses for the sake of peace and quiet.[/QUOTE] I can hardly believe it is that bad in Malaysia. I've heard from my friends and relatives who went there for vacation that it was safe. One of my friends rented a car and drove around with his family for 2 weeks without any problems. I was actually considering to go there this summer after hearing such nice stories. Indonesia used to be a wonderful place to go to (that is, outside Jakarta). We went there every 2 years to go to places like Bali, lake Toba, Pulau Seribu, so many wonderful places. Now, we're a bit bummed out after hearing about riots, high way robberies, terrorism, religious and ethnical tension, dengue fever. We've decided to go to Ireland for the summer holiday. Not many people know that the southwestern part of the country is breathtakingly beautiful. Oh, and the people are very nice too.
- Msia is much safer than Ina but not as safe compared to 90s. There is much more poverty and more incidences of petty crimeand getting worse. i think the reason is that the minority people in Msia deem it safer to donate money to others to make them less desperate, buying peace so to speak and this has worked quite well.But it has its downs, after redistribution of hard-earned money Chinese Msians are easily some of the poorest Chinese in the world.
To add to this discussion, Indonesian traffic laws are not as fair and honest as one would imagine. Justice is not the priority. Money and power are ! One would think that after the fall of Suharto regime, the country would be much more regulated and those unreliable policemen would be expelled from the force, thus the traffic in every street corners and intersections would be much more secured and Indonesian citizens are able to enjoy protection and justice. But think again... When Suharto was still the President of Indonesia. Although corruptions are widespread and becomes a constant, daily part of life, at least everything is in order. Those Policemen would purposedly obscure any traffic signs from its citizens and hid themselves in the bush or behind the building right next to the intersection, when you finally violated the law by failing to see the sign, the cops would show themselves up immediately and ask you two things... pay him with some money and he will end the scam right there or he will seize your licence and you will have to come to the Court and face all the hectic, endless, painful beauracracy. Most people (if not all 99.99% of people) would choose the previous one. Also, whenever you drove in Indonesia, I had always been reminded to pay attention to any army vehicles or police vehicles. Imagine ? These two group of people were supposed to be your protectors and saviors but yet there are the most group of people you want to avoid to deal with. Why ? The reason is simple, the army force held the power in the government and basically anywhere throughout the country. And Police force is part of the Army. They were in power. So, regardless of justice and who's at fault during any traffic accidents, you just can't win against these people. You might end up with tons of bruises or even not having a chance to see another day. So better avoid them at all cost, even if they are clearly violating the law or annoy you greatly in a traffic. Better yet, wait until they pass by and drive along slowly or turn take different ways. That's just life there. After Suharto resigned. It's even worse, because the Army and the police are separated, there have been huge spikes of traffic criminal accidents, there are many triads trying to take advantage of the situation. And if you ever get caught by the cops for violating even the simplest traffic law, you might end up paying 3-5x what you used to pay, because these cops are just own boss these days since the beauracracy systems changes so much and there's no prominent strong force (leaders) like during the Suharto's era anymore. The law changes, the officers change, the cops need to eat and more worried about their future and don't care about their citizens' well-being and safety. So when you drive these days, you really have to watch what you're doing, especially since the economic recession there are hundreds of motorcycles on the street and these people don't follow traffic laws, if you hit one of them, and the traffic is bad (jammed) you might end up getting beaten up by the crowd or stuck inside a burning vehicle. If you hit a pedestrian who doesn't care about traffic law either, your life is on line. If you get stuck on a traffic light, you better hide your expensive watch, cellphone, purse, bags, etc. These days Criminals are just more viscious, they don't ask, they just break your car windows and cut off your arm if you are wearing a gold ring or expensive watch. If you drive alone at night, try to drive on bigger roads and main avenues, as driving in remote parts of town or smaller roads are not the smartest thing to do. Indonesia is scary indeed these days. But yes, life goes on.
smashking, what u have observed and experienced is very predictable. Now, it's more lawless, criminally minded people are free from suharto's grip and now can be little suharto themselves, hundred of thousands of them if not millions. Analogous to Iraq now, life with saddam was much more 'organized and calmer' than today without saddam, even with the presence of coalition forces. Unfortunately unlike iraq, there is no guiding hands for INA at the moment.
Cooler, I'm not sure the comparison with Iraq is really adequate. I think it's better to avoid this subject! ... and keep to badminton!
Even in more "civilised" countries, the job of the police and army is to protect the state, not the individual. [I was going to have a rant, but have decided against it]
I'm only comparing INA and Iraq in one angle, of course there are many differences but there are also many similarities as well. Yes, what i've said was inadequate but i just dont want to rant on it. I'm skating on thin ice already What people have said about INA (above posts) are related to badminton. The current and future political, social, economical & financial state of INA have great bearing on their continuation of being a badminton powerhouse. When a body is sick, badminton performance goes down, even if it was a mighty giant before.
Cooler, I agree economical and political situation of Indonesia has an impact on badminton. I think you just can't compare with Iraq, I completely disagree with your previous statement about similarities (which is a very biased view in my opinion), but I think this is not the right place to discuss such a topic. The situation of Iraq is a very touchy problem and I think it is better to avoid discussing this subject on an international forum with people of various origins if you want the discussion to stay calm and friendly! Better stay to the topic!
