Jakarta – State-owned train operator PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) says many officers from the Indonesian Military (TNI) and police did not pay their train fares while travelling home for Idul Fitri.

"Many officers want to go by train without paying [...] We should treat all passengers, including those officers, as equals," PT KAI operational area I spokesman Mateta Rizalulhaq said Monday as quoted by kompas.com.

Mateta added that last week the train operators caught 250 military officers attempting to catch a train without tickets, and that they had been told to buy them.

A staffer with PT KAI, who requested to remain anonymous, said this practice was common during holidays. "[The officers] usually catch trains in groups to scare the ticket officers," the staffer said.

Mateta urged the officers to abide by the regulations and threatened to escalate the issue to their superiors should they find officers riding trains without paying again.