Jakarta Police Make Murder Suspect Wear Upside Down Darth Vader Mask

Story out of Jakarta, Indonesia:

A 17-year-old, identified by his initial B, was recently arrested in Cipayung, East Jakarta for allegedly taking part in the violent activities of a teenage motorcycle gang that resulted in the death of another 17-year-old, RH.

Jakarta Metro Police Spokesman Argo Yuwono said that B was a new recruit to the gang, and he was made to assault other teenagers in the area as an initiation rite.

The police arrested B on November 22 on suspicion that he was one of several gang members who brutally attacked RH, who eventually died because of his injuries.

Despite the horrific nature of this story, netizens were quick to point out an inappropriate Star Wars Easter egg when B was photographed during a police press conference on Sunday.

It’s common for crime suspects to wear masks when the police parade them in front of the media in Indonesia, but B’s mask was highly irregular, as he appears to be wearing an upside down Darth Vader mask.

We’re not sure why the police made him wear a Darth Vader mask, other than possibly trying to convey that B had been successfully lured to the dark side. Cont.

Story from - Jakarta Coconuts
Photo from - @detikcom

Cat Spent Year Living At Grave Of Deceased Owner

Story out of Java, Indonesia:

A grieving cat was left so heartbroken by her owner's death she has spent a YEAR living at her grave.

The mourning moggy was first heard crying while lying in the earth at the burial plot in Central Java, Indonesia

Passer-by Keli Keningau Prayitno, 28, tried to adopt the kitty but it returned to the same spot - cuddling the small blue headstone.

Remarkably, the cat walks every day to her former home where she is fed by an old lady's children - then returns to the grave.

Despite being offered new homes, even a year later the cat can still be seen at the grave night and day. Cont.

Story from - Mirror

Man Arrested In Indonesia For Trespassing While Playing Pokemon GO

Indonesia isn't exactly the most friendliest place on earth, he's lucky they weren't mad enough to Exeggcute him. Story out of Cirebon, Indonesia:

Several top Indonesian officials have stated their concerns that the phenomenally popular mobile game Pokemon GO could potentially cause security breaches in Indonesia, considering the augmented reality game pushes players to explore their surroundings while collecting GPS and photo data.

Many people dismissed their worries as ridiculous and overblown, but those officials no doubt feel vindicated over news that a Frenchman visiting Indonesia for business entered a military complex in Cirebon, West Java, yesterday while playing Pokemon GO.

According to authorities, the 27-year-old French citizen, identified as Romain Pierre, apparently should have known he was going into a restricted area. He was said to be jogging around the area in search of the virtual creatures.

Romain was detained by military security personnel and then handed over to the Cirebon Police for questioning. The Frenchman told the police he was in Indonesia for business and was staying with other members of his group in a nearby hotel.

The French citizen was released by police at about 2am on Tuesday morning and returned to the hotel after police checked that his passport and visa were in order. Cont.

Story from - Coconuts Jakarta

12 Die In Traffic Jams At The End Of Ramadan In Indonesia

Traffic so bad they named the toll gate "Brexit". Even Indonesia is making fun of England. Story out of Brebes, Indonesia:

Twelve people have died during a massive three-day traffic jam in Indonesia that stretched more than 20 kilometres and brought thousands of holidaymakers to a complete standstill, an official said on Friday (Jul 8).

The horror traffic at a major highway junction at Brebes, a city on the main island of Java, was so bad that Indonesians dubbed the disastrous toll gate "Brexit", from the words "Brebes exit".

Roads across the world's most populous Muslim-majority country are choked every year at the end of the holy month of Ramadan, as millions head to villages to celebrate Eid, which fell on Wednesday.

But the chaos at the "Brexit" junction this year was particularly acute in the three days before Eid, as tens of thousands of cars crammed the arterial highway, transport ministry spokesman Hemi Pramuraharjo told AFP.

Pramuraharjo said several of the victims were elderly while others died from fatigue and other health complications. Local media reported that a one-year-old suffering from fume poisoning was also among the deceased.

More than 400 motorists had died on Indonesia's roads so far this holiday season, including those in the "Brexit" jam, Pramuraharjo said. Cont.

Story from - Channel NewsAsia
Image from - aenertia - Wikimedia Commons

Plane Unable To Land For 20 Minutes Because Airport Was Closed

Story out of Indonesia:

There are many reasons why a plane would land behind schedule, but this is the first time we’ve ever heard of a plane being late because the destination airport wasn’t open by the time the plane was arriving.

Flight IW 1821 departed Kupang for the Frans Seda airport in Maumere, which is located in the Sikka Regency of East Nusa Tenggara. Instead of making a straightforward landing, the plane was forced to fly around for 20 minutes as the airport wasn’t operational at the time.

Yosep Benyamin, who happens to be a high ranking official within the Sikka Government, recalled the incident this morning.

“The plane couldn’t immediately land and so we were flying around above the airport for 20 minutes because, according to the pilot, the airport wasn’t open at the time, and the pilot apologized to the passengers."

Yosep added that this is the third time this has happened to him.

The head of the airport’s management team, Yohanes Keraf, defended the airport and refused to admit they were lazy. Cont.

Story from - Coconut Jakarta
Image from - TRF_Mr_Hyde - Flickr
cc 2.0

Indonesian Religious Police Arrest Man For Almost Stepping On Quran

Blasphemy is such a serious offense in Indonesia that the authorities and the government recently teamed up to track down one man who posted a photo of himself committing a sacrilegious act on Islam’s holy book, the Quran.

The photo above was posted by Facebook user Kapry Ananda on June 12. In it, a man, believed to be the poster, is pictured just about to set his foot on a Quran, which has been left open on the floor. The photo was accompanied by a caption warning others not to copy the act.

As soon as the post went viral, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced that they created a special task force consisting of police officers and ministry employees in order to catch the man in the photo. Today, they reported that they had done just that by arresting a young man, identified as 20 year-old Capry Nanda from the Sungai Aur District in the Pasaman Barat Regency of West Sumatra.

It’s not yet known what charges Capry will face. However, the law states that those who commit blasphemy against any recognized religions in Indonesia can be jailed for up to 5 years. Cont.

Story from - Coconuts Jakarta
Image from - Wikimedia Commons
cc 3.0

Indonesian Parents Cut Teacher's Hair In Revenge For Child's Haircut

Story out of West Kalimantan, Indonesia:

In Indonesia, some teachers still use disciplinary measure that would be considered quite harsh elsewhere. In addition to corporal punishment, some Indonesian teachers have been known to cut their students’ hair off in class in order to punish and humiliate them.

That is what Jamilah, a 39-year-old part-time teacher in Radak Baru Village in the Kubu Raya district of West Kalimantan, did to one student recently. But the student’s parents did not accept the potong rambut punishment and later took their revenge on the teacher.

"Previously, the teacher had cut the hair of the perpetrators’ child to educate them," Mempawas Police Chief Dedi Agustono told reporters on Thursday as quoted by Detik.

The student’s parents, Eko Sutarko and Suparno, apparently found Jamilah yesterday sitting with one of her neighbors in the village. And they brought their scissors with them.

"The perpetrator, Suparno, immediately grabbed the victim’s hair and Eko Sunarko immediately cut the victim's hair with scissors," Dedi said. Cont.

Story from - Jakarta

Indonesian Man Claiming To Have Found Angel From Heaven Turns Out To Be Sex Doll

Story out of Banggai Islands, Indonesia:

When a fisherman found a beautiful doll floating in the sea days after a solar eclipse in Indonesia, he thought it was an angel.

Pardin, 21, rescued it from the water and took it home, where his mother took care of it like a real human, dressing it every day in a different blouse and hijab and sitting in a chair.

Word spread in the small village on Banggai island off central Sulawesi with embellishments added to the story too, such as that the ‘angel child’ was found stranded and crying.

Many people in Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, believe solar eclipses like the one on March 12 this year are spiritual.

But when the story reached local police, they punctured the idea that this blow-up doll was from heaven. Cont.

Story from - Metro
Image from - Geograph

Indonesian Pop Star Dies Onstage After Being Bitten By Cobra

Indonesian pop star Irma Bule, 29, died onstage during a performance on Sunday night after she was bitten by a king cobra she was handling during the show.

Reports are saying Bule was singing at a party when she accidentally stepped on a cobra that hadn’t been de-fanged.

A nearby handler removed the snake from the stage and tried to administer anti-venom to Bule, but she refused and continued to perform.

According to The Huffington Post U.K., a member of the audience said: “In the middle of the second song, Irma stepped on the snake’s tail. The snake then bit Irma in her thigh.” 

Around 45 minutes later, she started to vomit and have seizures. She was taken to the hospital, but was later pronounced dead. Cont. (Video)

Story from - Global News

Indonesian Mayor Thinks Baby Formula Turns Kids Gay

Story out of Tangerang, Indonesia:

After Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu recently declared that the pro-LGBT movement was more dangerous than nuclear warfare, today Tangerang Mayor Arief R Wismansyah is saying that feeding your baby canned milk and instant noodles might make them gay.

Arief talked about the LGBT issue during a seminar on pregnancy at the Tangerang City Health Office on Tuesday. The seminar, titled “The First 1,000 Days of Life for Tangerang City,” was focused on the importance of providing proper nutrition for babies, especially in their first 1,000 days of life.

"To create Indonesian children that are healthy smart and competitive, the most important thing is, from the beginning, to provide them adequate nutrition, especially breastfeeding," Arief said as quoted by Okezone.

Most scientists would strongly agree with the crucial importance of early childhood nutrition, but we’re pretty sure there isn’t a single credible scientist who would agree with what Mayor Arief went on to say. According to him, nowadays parents are so busy that they often only feed their children formula and instant foods, which can have a permanent negative effect on their child’s development.

“So, it’s no wonder that recently there are more LGBT,” he concluded. Cont.

Story from - Coconuts Jakarta
Image from - nerissa's ring - Flickr
cc 2.0

Indonesia Wants Facebook To Block Gay Emojis

Indonesian authorities on Thursday said they would ask Facebook and its popular messaging service WhatsApp, to block subscribers from using emojis and stickers with LGBT themes.

Ismail Cawidu, spokesperson at the ministry of Communication and Informatics, said social media should respect what he termed Indonesia's norms and culture, according to local news outlet Detik. Although homosexuality is legal in the world's largest Muslim-majority country, same-sex relationships remain a sensitive issue. Cont.

Story from - Time

Indonesia Changes It's Asian Games Mascot Because It Looks Too Much Like A Chicken

Indonesia is revising the mascot for the 2018 Asian Games after criticism that the newly unveiled bird-of-paradise looks more like a chicken.

The mascot, called Drawa, was launched Dec. 27 by Vice-President Jusuf Kalla and is named after Cendrawasih, the local name of an iconic bird which is only found in Indonesia's eastern most Papua province, New Guinea, and eastern Australia.

However, many online critics have said the design makes it look more like a chicken than a bird-of-paradise, while others have said the mascot is out of date or just not suitable for such a major event. Cont.

Story from - CBC News