Update: Police claim that the assailant’s police license plate is fake.
Original story follows below.
A rideshare driver was assaulted and threatened at gunpoint, video footage shows, by a man driving a car sporting a police license plate on the Jakarta-Tangerang toll road on Thursday evening.
Social media posts accompanying the viral footage indicate that the assault started when the rideshare driver, named Hendra, was carrying passengers and heading towards the Tomang exit in Grogol Petamburan, West Jakarta at around 9:35pm.
Hendra was driving in lane three and switched to lane four. At that time, the traffic near the Tomang exit was quite congested. From behind, the police car driver chased and stopped Hendra’s car.
In a video recorded by the passengers, the police car driver appeared livid and yelled profanities at Hendra for overtaking him.
Hendra tried to calm down the attacker but was still beaten. After hitting Hendra, the attacker grabbed a gun from his car and returned to threaten the rideshare driver with it.
At one point, Hendra can be heard sarcastically calling his armed attacker a “tough guy” while exclaiming that he will face the music after the video of the incident goes viral. Hendra’s terrified passengers pleaded for him not to provoke the assailant further.
The attacker eventually returned to his car and continued his journey.
Hendra has reportedly filed a police complaint against his assailant, with the West Jakarta Metro Police saying today that an investigation has been launched. The assailant’s identity is not yet known, and it’s not clear whether or not he is a cop.
It’s worth noting that the assailant’s vehicle – a Mazda 6 – is a common police car in Indonesia.
