'Special service' fails flood victims

Thursday, February 15, 2007
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

City police have been operating a special services unit of the Motor Vehicle Document Center (SAMSAT) since Saturday, providing replacements of missing or damaged documents to flood victims.

Dozens of people queued at city police headquarters in South Jakarta on Monday, only to find they did not have the necessary support documents.

Although police had decided to accelerate the process of issuing replacement documents, many of the flood victims left dissatisfied.

Mauhal Gultom, a resident of Ciledug, South Jakarta, told The Jakarta Post on Monday he had applied for a replacement of his Vehicle Ownership Document (BPKB) Saturday but had returned home empty-handed because he was not carrying the necessary papers and had been told he also needed to get his car serviced.

He took his car in for servicing at an approved garage and drove to police headquarters Monday to have it checked. He had also taken along a letter from his neighborhood unit chief, a photocopy of his vehicle registration card (STNK) and a copy of his identity card.

Police are charging the owners of motorcycles, cars and public transportation vehicles Rp 70,000 (about US$7) for replacement documents, while truck owners pay Rp 80,000.

The head of the Jakarta traffic police's BPKB unit, Comr. Anak Agung Made Sudana, said that in order to obtain a new BPKB, the vehicle owner must present a copy of their STNK, evidence police had checked their vehicle and "if the BPKB was lost, the owner needs to bring along a copy of their ad in the lost and found part of a newspaper's classifieds section."

Adj. Second Insp. Hermanto, also of the traffic division, said only three people had fulfilled all the requirements to get their STNK replaced Monday.

"We can issue the replacement in a day if the documents are complete and the owner pays Rp 25,000 for a motorcycle or Rp 50,000 for a car,

"It normally takes two days to replace a STNK but, at a time such as this, we are doing our best to speed up the process," Hermanto said.

Replacements for STNKs and driver's licenses can be obtained at any SAMSAT in Greater Jakarta, while BPKBs can only be obtained at the traffic division at city police headquarters.

The city police now have three SAMSAT offices: in Daan Mogot, West Jakarta, in Kebon Nanas, East Jakarta and at city police headquarters on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta.(02)