VIRAL: NBA player hands out US dollars in Jakarta streets from sunroof of his car

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Images of two white men handing out free US dollars from a car on the streets of Jakarta went viral early this week – especially after netizens recognized one of the men.

Within hours, netizens identified Mason Plumlee, an NBA player from the Portland Trail Blazers, as one of the men in the car. This, after he also posted an Instagram picture of him in Jakarta. 

Lalin padat dr Medan Merdeka Sltn arah KKP Gambir. Ada Mas2 Bule bagi2 dollar @TMCPoldaMetro @Metro_TV @antaranews pic.twitter.com/7vE7Hq5oS5

— Indrihastuti (@Indrihast) June 13, 2016

In a Twitter direct message, Plumlee confirmed to Coconuts Jakarta that it was indeed him handing out money.

“We were late to a meeting and trying to incentivize the traffic to move along. We did not mean to disrespect the people and they actually had a lot of fun with it. We had a great visit to Jakarta,” wrote the NBA player.

Meanwhile police saw nothing wrong with Plumlee’s idea, saying he didn’t need a permit for it and there was nothing legally wrong.

“Yeah, no problem. It’s nice to give money, isn’t it?” Jakarta Police Public Relations Head Awie Setiyono told local media.

Jakarta’s traffic is infamous for being among the worst in the world.

Ironically, Plumlee and his friend’s gimmick to hand out money to ease the traffic may have stalled the gridlock further – as many grabbed onto the opportunity for free dollars on the street.

What do you think about Plumlee’s gimmick? – Rappler.com