Two drivers working for ride-hailing apps, locally known as “online taxis”, were killed in as many days in the North Sumatran capital of Medan over the weekend.
The Medan Police said that one of the victims, identified as 34-year-old Ridwan Limbong, was stabbed to death by a gang of robbers while he was driving along on Jalan Juanda on Saturday. The other victim, identified as 46-year-old David Julher Simanjuntak, was found dead with his body dumped in a ditch early on Sunday.
The police have not identified Ridwan’s attackers. In David’s case, the police said that they have identified two suspects, one of whom was arrested and the other shot dead for resisting arrest. Police said that the suspects hailed a ride from David using the Grab app and stabbed him 26 times in the car before running off with his belongings.
“Just take his car, don’t take his life. Not only did they take his car and money, they killed him by stabbing him 26 times too. They were too cruel, they must’ve been on drugs,” said David’s wife, Yorida Sihombing, during her husband’s wake on Sunday, as quoted by Kompas.
The police did not say whether or not Ridwan and David’s murders were linked, or if their profession is why they were targeted.
Both left behind wives and small children.
Indonesia’s Supreme Court recently overturned government regulations constricting the operations of ride-hailing apps like Uber and Grab in Indonesia. However, resistance for the online mode of transport from the nation’s taxi drivers continues to happen throughout the country. Last week, a mob — not positively identified as cabbies — flipped a car to its side in Batam island after mistakenly thinking that its driver was working for a ride-hailing app.
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