Unofficial parking attendants are practically as common as parking spots in Indonesia. There’s no legal requirement to pay them for their services, but one should always be prepared for the consequences for not doing so (we had pebbles pelted at our car once, for example).
In the city of Medan, three parking attendants recently achieved viral infamy due to their inexplicable retribution method — and it’s something the victim will probably never be able to unsee.
On Monday, a motorcyclist by the name of Tina briefly parked her vehicle outside a drug store. As she was leaving the premises, one female parking attendant — a middle aged woman in appearance wearing a t-shirt and a sarong — so definitely not an official Transportation Agency parking attendant — demanded that Tina pay the IDR2,000 (US$0.14) parking fare. Things escalated verbally between the two when Tina refused, resulting in her taking out her phone to film the encounter, which soon got a whole lot more interesting…
First, the lady in the green shirt lifted her sarong to exhibit her underwear in an apparent attempt to goad Tina as she was filming. Then, two other women, who also appear to be unofficial parking attendants, flashed their panties and bras as well with one or two of them shouting, “take a photo!”
Tina did end up paying the parking fare amid a flurry of curses from the attendants. She also posted this photo of the parking receipt, which looks to be an official receipt from the Medan Transportation Agency but modified rather sloppily by hand to double the fare from IDR1,000 to IDR2,000.
Law enforcement tends to turn a blind eye to unofficial parking attendants in Indonesia (you can guess as to why), and in this case, it was no different. After the video went viral, police officers were dispatched to speak with one of the attendants.
“According to the parking attendant, the arrogant one was the motorcyclist. [The attendant] asked for parking money but [the motorcyclist] didn’t want to pay. And then the attendant protested the behavior of the motorcyclist, who then left without paying,” Medan Baru Police Public Development Unit Head Kasir Nasution said in the video, which was officially uploaded by the local police.
There were no reports of the attendants being charged with public indecency or whether or not they’re still allowed to operate in their spot.
Speaking to Kumparan yesterday, Tina said things escalated with the parking attendants after she asked for a receipt.
“I was only asking for what’s rightfully mine. Why was there no receipt but I was told to pay for parking? And why is it that when I got there [to park] the attendants weren’t there but as I was leaving they were?” she said.
“I don’t understand why they had to lift up their clothes.”
As strange as this incident might seem, it’s relatively tame compared to some parking attendants who actually turn violent when not paid. In 2015, two motorcycle taxi drivers were stabbed by parking attendants in North Jakarta for not paying, killing one of them. We don’t condone extortion at any amount, but it’s probably not worth holding on to IDR2,000 if it means risking your vehicle or yourself.
