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View all search resultsPolice arrest man for insulting Malays, Batam council slaps customary sanctions
Barelang City Police detectives allege a hate crime took place on Facebook.
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Vendors prepare pork for sale on Jan. 15, 2022 at a market in the southern Thailand province of Narathiwat
(AFP/Madaree Tohlala)
P
olice in Batam have arrested a man for allegedly spreading hate speech by insulting Malay people on Facebook following a heated debate regarding the closure of pork stalls in Sagulung, Riau Islands.
Batam, Rempang and Galang (Barelang) Police chief Sr. Comr. Anggoro Wicaksono said his officers moved fast to follow up on a public report regarding an insulting comment posted on social media by Raja Situmorang.
“We have detained the suspect at a boarding house in Muka Kuning for further investigation,” he told a press conference at Barelang City Police headquarters on Tuesday.
Barelang City Police Criminal Investigation (Reskrim) Unit chief Comr. M. Debby Tri Andrestian said the case started from a Facebook post discussing the closure of stalls selling pork in Sagulung area. In the comment section RS was believed to have written an insulting comment toward the Malay ethnic group.
“The suspect did not create his own post but simply commented on another,” he said.
A representative of the Malay organization Local Union (Perpat), Wandi, then filed a police report with Barelang City Police, saying the comment was hurtful toward Malays.
Raja was arrested on June 1 and police confiscated an iPhone and Oppo smartphone believed to be used by the suspect. He was charged with a hate crime under the Electronic Information and Transaction Law, which carries a punishment of two to three years in jail.
