It takes some ridiculously reckless bravado to attempt impersonating a cop, and even more so to use your false police persona to ask for bribes on a public street. We don’t even know what word you could use to describe trying to maintain your fake cop act while being questioned by actual police officers, but that’s the word that has to be used to describe this guy.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlP4c1LnCOz/?hl=id&taken-by=tmcpoldametro
Those photos from the official Jakarta Police Traffic Management Centre’s Instagram account show two real officers questioning one fake one, real name Joseph Anugerah, near the entrance to the Casablanca Flyover on Jalan Mas Mansyur.
According to the police, 20-year-old Joseph, utilizing a fake police uniform purchased at Pasar Senen, had stationed himself at the entrance to the flyover in order to target drivers leaving the nearby Sahid Sudirman apartments and making an illegal turn to enter the elevated road.
His modus operandi was to ask the drivers for their license and registration. If they could not produce the documents he would ask for a IDR50,000 (US$3.50). He was able to get away with his scam for three days before he was finally caught red-handed by police on Sunday afternoon.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BlP4_8XjnP8/?hl=id&taken-by=tmcpoldametro
When asked by the real police officers for his Police Identity Card, Joseph showed them a card belonging to Tonargogo Sihombing, an actual adjunct commissioner on the police force. Joseph admitted that the card wasn’t his but claimed that Tornagogo is his father. However, Tornagogo says he is not related to the 20-year-old.
Joseph was arrested and has been charged with criminal fraud. He told the police he was motivated by economic need, but police say that on at least one occasion he ordered one of the drivers he had stopped to do push-ups as a punishment.
In light of the incident, police have urged the public to be on the lookout for fake cops.
“Real police officers will usually not be working alone. But even if they are alone, they should have their identity card, their name on their uniform, a badge and other accessories. If you are in doubt, just report it to the police,” Jakarta Traffic Police Chief Yusuf said yesterday as quoted by Detik.
