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‘We kept them for eight years’: Banten farmers mourn stolen buffaloes
The family suffered an estimated loss of Rp 270 million (US$18,466) from the theft.
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A farmer takes a rest while his buffalo grazes in Serpong, Tangerang, Banten. (The Jakarta Post/R. Berto Wedhatama)
T
he family of a woman who appeared in a viral video mourning beside a buffalo carcass has confirmed that she is the wife a local farmer who had lost his buffaloes to thieves.
Speaking to reporters, the farmer’s daughter, Hani Purnomo, said her family had lost nine buffaloes to poachers on Thursday. The family later discovered the carcasses on fields in the Krakatau Steel industrial area in Cilegon, Banten.
"Four of [the buffaloes] had their meat taken with only their innards left, while the remaining five [were killed, but] their meat had not been taken yet," Hani told reporters on Thursday at the Cilegon Police headquarters, as quoted by kompas.com.
Hani said her family had kept the buffaloes for eight years. They planned to sell them in advance of the Idul Adha holiday on July 31, a celebration where Muslims usually sacrifice livestock to honor the sparing of the Prophet Ismail.
She estimated that her family had lost about Rp 270 million (US$18,466) from the theft as the price of a buffalo typically rose to about Rp 30 million as Idul Adha neared.
Read also: Idul Adha to fall on July 31, government declares
"My father is still stressed and shocked, while my mother often cries. We kept them for eight years," she said.
Hani said the buffaloes were still in their shed when her father, Kasino, checked on them on Thursday at 1:30 a.m. However, the buffalos were gone by 6 a.m. She suspected that the theft took place between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
"This is the first time an incident like this has ever happened [to us]. Hopefully, the perpetrators will be arrested," she said. (mfp)
