Online taxi driver flees authorities with officer clinging to car hood in South Jakarta, Indonesia

INDONESIA: In Indonesia, a widely circulated video captures a man defiantly resisting authorities’ orders to open his car door.

The footage, posted on a Facebook page on 5 January, has garnered 6.5 million views by the time of writing, drawing attention both locally and internationally.

At the outset of the video, the man, identified as an online taxi driver, is confronted by three officers from the South Jakarta Transportation Sub-Department (Sudin).

Despite repeated requests to open his car door, he responds with laughter, asking, “Why? What is it?”

Ignoring further instructions to move to the side, he abruptly accelerates and speeds away.

The video unfolds with one officer desperately clinging to the car’s engine hood, urging the driver to stop due to the danger.

Unfazed, the driver retorts, “So what?”

He maneuvers the car erratically, making it challenging for the officer to maintain grip before the video abruptly concludes.

Local news reports reveal that the man had been stopped for displaying inappropriate behaviour towards officers monitoring illegal parking.

He had circled the area multiple times, recording the officers’ activities, and even gestured obscenely towards them.

Additionally, he collided with a two-wheeled driver but callously sped off without stopping, as reported by the South Jakarta Transportation Agency.

The driver was eventually apprehended by residents and handed over to the Setia Budi Metro Police for further investigation.

Expressing remorse, he apologized to the officers, who, in turn, forgave him on the condition that he refrain from repeating such actions in their presence.

The parties reached a peaceful resolution through an agreement on stamp duty.