Pinjol Debt Collector who Ordered Ambulances-Damkar to Terrorize Customers Must Be Jailed

Member of Commission III of the House of Representatives, Abdullah, asked for cases of debt collectors who deceived emergency services, such as ambulances and fire fighters (damkar), to visit debtors' homes in a number of areas so that they could be investigated thoroughly.

According to him, debt collectors with this modus operandi must be dealt with firmly, including being prosecuted, because it has harmed many parties. This debt collection practice has the potential to endanger public safety.

"The debt collector must be prosecuted because he has endangered the lives of many people," said Abdulla.

Abdullah's statement was made in response to a number of cases in various regions regarding the modus operandi of debt collectors who call emergency services when they want to collect debts at the debtor's house.

The modus operandi occurred in Sleman, Yogyakarta, and Semarang, Central Java. Debt collectors pretend to need the help of ambulances and fire departments by giving the address of the debtor's house that they are going to visit.

Abdullahmengatakan penggunaan ambulans secara fiktif berisiko karena menghambat penanganan pasien yang benar-benar membutuhkan pertolongan darurat. Begitu pula dengan damkar yang berperan penting merespons kebakaran dan menyelamatkan jiwa.

"This means that the debt collector has been playing with the safety and lives of the community by deceiving ambulances and fire departments to collect debts. This case should not be allowed to continue to happen," he said.

Therefore, the legislator for legal affairs urged the police to investigate the case thoroughly, including uncovering the identity of the perpetrators and the parties who employed them.

In addition to prosecuting the crime or giving a firm sanction to the debt collector, Abdullah said the purpose of the prosecution was also so that the ambulance and fire departments that were cheated could claim compensation.

On the other hand, he asked that the governance of the debt collection system by third parties regulated by the Financial Services Authority (OJK) needed to be maximized.

This is because violations in the practice of debt collection continue to occur, ranging from intimidation, violence, to forced withdrawal.

"OJK seems to let this condition, not stopping the practice of debt collectors, but also has not been able to prevent billing violations that violate the law," he said.