The Jakarta Globe, June 4, 2013.
A woman accused of stealing two BlackBerry cellphones was assaulted before being stripped bare and shaved bald in another instance of vigilante justice in Jakarta on Tuesday.
The 19-year-old was marched to a security post in Matraman, East Jakarta, by a mob after she was allegedly caught stealing mobile phones from two homes. The teenager begged local residents for forgiveness as they beat and cursed her, said Gunadi, one of her alleged victims.
The residents, most of them women, then forced her to strip and shaved her head to “demean her,” Gunadi said.
“All were emotional, so they shaved her head to bald,” she explained.
Tuesday’s ordeal began as Gunadi reportedly caught the woman in her home.
“She was suddenly inside my house, I don’t know her,” Gunadi said.
The woman asked to use her bathroom, but was later seen with a BlackBerry belonging to Gunadi’s son, the victim said. Neighbors arrived on the scene and searched the 19-year-old, reportedly finding a second stolen phone.
“The mobile phone that was in her hand was my son’s phone, the other one was my neighbor’s phone,” Gunadi said. “She stole the phone before [coming to my house].”
The crowd then passed judgement and attacked the woman.
Mob justice is a common occurrence in Jakarta where residents have set vehicles ablaze after traffic accidents and attacked accused thieves.
di 4 jun 2013 - 23:50
