‘Misunderstanding’ caused soldier to threaten civilian with bayonet amid road rage: military command

A soldier in Semarang threatening a civilian driver with a bayonet on March 3, 2023. Photo: Video screengrab
A soldier in Semarang threatening a civilian driver with a bayonet on March 3, 2023. Photo: Video screengrab

Another day, another oknum, as they say, with a soldier now in the spotlight for violent behavior that doesn’t necessarily represent the institution of which he is part.

A video taken in Semarang, Central Java went viral over the weekend depicting a military man stepping out of his car to engage with the driver of the car behind his. After screaming at the civilian, who remained in his car, the soldier went back to his car and took out a long bayonet as an intimidation tactic. Thankfully, the soldier did not use the bayonet, but his gestures indicated that he felt a sense of entitlement on the road due to being part of the military.

Colonel Bambang Hermanto, spokesman at Military Command (Kodam) IV/Diponegoro in Semarang, yesterday clarified that the road rage incident was caused by a “misunderstanding.”

According to him, the soldier, who is identified by his initials ES, was upset that the civilian, who is identified by his initials NH, was hogging a lane and prevented the military man from overtaking in an incident that preceded the video. ES then confronted NH, as seen in the video, when they came to a stop at an intersection, unaware that the car behind them was filming the incident while Justin Timberlake’s Mirrors was playing in the background.

Bambang said that ES was summoned by military officials for an internal investigation but there have been no reports of any sanctions towards the soldier. Instead, ES met with NH and the two parties amicably agreed not to take the case further.

That will definitely stop all the entitled behavior, then.



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