Bali Police is now dispelling any rumors that a 24-year-old arrested in Ubud has links to terrorists.
A Bandung university student, DNM was detained by Bali and Gianyar Police for questioning because he was under suspicion of sympathizing with radical terrorists.
Upon his arrest, local media starting wildly speculating that the young man was affiliated with ISIS or even the Jakarta attackers.
But Bali Police’s chief spokesman Hery Wiyanto says the boy is no terrorist, was actually just a runaway, and has a family member that’s a trainer for Brimob West Java.
“Because he was detected in Ubud (Gianyar), there was then some coordination with the Police Police Mobile Brigade. And he was already taken by his family,” Wiyanto said on Thursday, as quoted by Tribun Bali.
Wiyanto further dismissed the widely reported notion that the young man had ISIS images on his phone.
“It’s all nothing. Now he’s already gone home, taken by his family,” Wiyanto concluded.
Yikes, what a huge misstep with local media who picked up on the story so fast that the allegations spread like wildfire without any confirmation—that is, unless something was wrong with this man and it got swept under the rug.
