Jakarta – Street gangs in the Indonesian capital Jakarta are stealing fuel from tanker trucks which become stuck in heavy traffic, a newspaper reported Monday.

The Jakarta Post carried a photograph of a teenager opening the fuel tap of one tanker and pouring off some two litres of diesel fuel into a plastic bag. It said he and four friends try to fill a 400-litre (104 gallon) drum every day with stolen fuel.

The teenager told the Post he earns about 8,000 rupiah (80 cents) a day by stealing fuel from tankers leaving the city's main fuel distribution centre.

The Post said the thefts are organised by a gang of hoodlums and drivers turn a blind eye to the practice for fear of having their vehicles vandalised.

Youths eke out a living in ingenious ways in the poverty-stricken capital. Some busk at traffic lights for tips from motorists. Others hire themselves as car passengers along a main highway, where authorities have decreed a minimum of three people per private car in peak hours to avoid congestion.

With traffic police a relative rarity, other youths direct vehicles in return for tips.