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‘Den of thieves’: Central Java village in spotlight following digital vandalism
In early June, a group of Sukolilo residents allegedly beat a car rental businessman to death after he had tried to retrieve his car that had been reported missing for months.
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Stock illustration of map markers. (Shutterstock/Vensto)
A quiet, little-known village in Pati regency, Central Java, has grabbed national attention, with the village coming under a digital attack by Indonesian netizens who mark the location with bad names following the murder of a car rental businessman several weeks ago.
Sumbersoko village in Sukolilo district went viral after netizens began attaching various tags containing insults and hateful expressions around the area on Google Maps.
Among several marks discovered on Sumbersoko and other areas across Sukolilo by The Jakarta Post on Wednesday afternoon were kampung bandit (thief village), beban negara (state burden) and area sumber daya manusia rendah (source of low-class citizens).
Aside from adding the labels, netizens also reportedly reported false road closure information on several roads across the district, causing Google Maps to stop suggesting routes through the area to users.
The netizens’ acts follow public outrage over the murder of a car rental businessman in Sukolilo earlier this month.
