A motorcyclist was placed under arrest in South Jakarta yesterday afternoon for an alleged traffic violation turned drug bust.
The motorcyclist, identified as 23-year-old RS, was illegally driving on a TransJakarta bus-exclusive busway lane on Jalan Raya Mampang Prapatan when traffic police officers tried to stop him. RS eluded one officer but unfortunately crashed his vehicle into another officer.
“(RS crashed into) a police officer named Zikri Zulfikar, who is conscious but received bruises on his right leg,” said Jakarta Metro Police Law Enforcement sub-division head Budiyanto, as quoted by Okezone yesterday.
RS fell off his bike after the collision with the officer. After he was searched, officers found that he was in possession of almost five grams of marijuana in his bag.
RS was taken to the Pancoran precinct in South Jakarta for questioning. The police have not announced what charges he would face, though a potential fine of IDR500,000 (US$37) fine for illegally driving on the busway lane is likely to be the least of his worries.
Marijuana falls in the same illegal narcotics class as heroin and cocaine in Indonesia. Possession of the illegal drug, if under 1kg, is punishable by 4 to 12 years’ imprisonment, while any amount exceeding that is punishable by life imprisonment. However, there has been a precedent of someone being given the death penalty for possession of 47kg of marijuana.
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