Watch: Mob in Batam flips over car after mistakenly thinking it’s an ‘online taxi’

Photo: Instagram screengrab via Kompas
Photo: Instagram screengrab via Kompas

While ride-sharing services like Uber and Grab (locally known as “online taxi” in Indonesia) recently had many of the legal constraints placed upon them by the government removed by a surprising Supreme Court decision, there are evidently still those who are less than thrilled about their presence.

Today, a video is circulating online showing a mob flipping a red car over onto its side outside a mall on Batam island.  

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZU-VVUH5GX/?taken-by=ndorobeii

According to reports, the car was parked outside Mega Mall Batam today while the driver was waiting to pick up a passenger. Suddenly, a mob of unidentified men came over and flipped the car, reportedly because they thought that it’s an online taxi.

“The incident is real and we are handling it,” said Grand Commissioner Hengki, head of the Balerang Precinct, as quoted by Kompas today.

However, the police said that the car is not, in fact, an online taxi.

“The driver was picking up his wife who was shopping,” Hengki said.

Police have arrested one member of the mob and are searching for others. Their motive for flipping the car over is yet to be determined.

There are no reports as to whether or not the driver was injured during the mob attack.



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