A mob beat a man who was falsely accused of kidnapping a child on Sunday in Cilodong district Depok, West Java, before military personnel rescued the man and took him to the nearest police station.

Akhmad Khotib, 45, was falsely accused of kidnapping an infant, but which turned out to be a cat, Depok Police spokesperson Adj. Comr. Firdaus said on Monday.

“If residents come across any suspicious activity, please report it to the police. Don’t be a vigilante,” Firdaus said as quoted by kompas.com. He added that Akhmad was unable to communicate clearly with the police on the chronology of the incident, due to the severity of his injuries. 

The incident comes after several hoaxes claiming rampant cases of kidnapping became widespread on social media.

The police later confirmed that information on the "abductions" were fake. (fac)