It’s not just tourists who lament over getting ripped off and taken advantage of in Bali.
A number of truckers have been complaining that they have been getting extorted when going across a certain bridge in Jembrana, West Bali.
According to Antara Bali, the disgruntled truckers say that whenever they cross the bridge in Desa Dangin Tukadaya, there is a person there waiting for them, demanding somewhere between Rp 100,000 to 150,000, especially for heavily loaded trucks.
“Even though we’ve already put up proof that the vehicle and its cargo have been weighed at the Timbang Cekik Bridge in Gilimanuk. But still, the ‘officers’ ask for money,” one truck driver from Negara who asked not to be named told Antara on Monday.
The unnamed trucker apparently said these sorts of unofficial or “illegal” charges have been levied since the bridge was reopened after it had collapsed in January. According to this trucker, truckers transporting goods from Java to Denpasar are the ones most often subjected to such alleged extortion.
Another trucker from Melaya, Jembrana complained to Antara of similar extortive practices, but says the price has fallen to Rp 25,000 per vehicle and the “fee” is imposed at night and is almost non-existent during the day.
“Maybe they know that most trucks travel to Denpasar at night,” the Melaya trucker told Antara.
From the official side of things, the Jembrana Head of the Department of Transportation, Communication, & Information, I Gusti Bagus Ngurah Putra Riyadi says he’s gotten complaints of alleged extortion but hasn’t found any evidence to date. He said that the government has been working to mitigate extortion by installing two CCTV cameras on both sides of the bridge, but at this time the West-side camera is broken.
“But until now, there have been no proof,” Riyadi said.
