Sleman Regent Harda Kiswaya has expressed deep concern following a disturbing incident in which a debt collector for an online lending service (pinjol) manipulated emergency services to track down a debtor. The incident, which involved luring both an ambulance and a fire department crew to a location under false pretenses, has prompted calls for a swift investigation and legal action.
During a visit to Kampung Mrican, Sleman, on Friday (April 24), Harda condemned the deceptive tactics used by the debt collector. “We have been deceived, and I am very concerned. I hope the perpetrator is caught immediately so that such incidents can be prevented from happening again,” he stated.
In response to the breach of emergency protocols, Harda announced plans to overhaul the fire department’s call center system. By implementing more rigorous verification procedures, the administration aims to identify and filter out fraudulent reports more effectively. “We will make improvements to the system to better detect whether a call is genuine or a hoax,” he added.
Meanwhile, law enforcement is actively pursuing the case. Sleman Police Chief Commissioner Adhitya Panji Anom revealed that initial investigations have traced the phone number used by the suspect to North Sumatra. “We are currently conducting further investigations, including tracking the phone number used by the perpetrator, which has been detected in the North Sumatra region,” Adhitya confirmed on Friday.
While the Sleman Police Criminal Investigation Unit continues its probe, no suspects have been taken into custody as of yet. “For the time being, no parties have been arrested. We will provide further updates as the investigation progresses,” the Police Chief noted.
The incident originally unfolded on Wednesday (April 22), when an ambulance driver and a fire rescue team were separately lured to a boarding house in Caturtunggal, Depok, Sleman. The ambulance driver was directed to pick up a patient, only to discover that the individual mentioned had moved away three years prior. Simultaneously, firefighters were dispatched to handle a fictitious report of a snake infestation, only to find no such emergency at the scene.
Upon calling the numbers back to verify the reports, both the ambulance driver and the fire crew were confronted by a debt collector. Even after being caught in the lie, the caller audaciously demanded that the emergency workers assist in pressuring the debtor to settle their dues. Similar deceptive tactics have reportedly targeted a local septic tank cleaning service in Sleman as well, raising concerns about the misuse of public utility services for private financial disputes.
Summary
Sleman Regent Harda Kiswaya has strongly condemned a debt collector who manipulated emergency services by luring an ambulance and a fire truck under false pretenses to track down a debtor. The incident, which occurred on April 22, saw an ambulance dispatched for a non-existent patient and firefighters for a fictitious snake infestation, only for the debt collector to ask them to pressure the debtor.
In response, Regent Harda Kiswaya announced plans to overhaul the fire department’s call center system with more rigorous verification procedures to prevent future hoaxes. Sleman Police Chief Commissioner Adhitya Panji Anom confirmed that law enforcement is actively investigating the case, tracing the suspect’s phone number to North Sumatra, though no arrests have been made yet.