Nineteen-year-old MAA was beaten up in front of an elementary school in Ubud last Friday for allegedly brandishing a kitchen knife and extorting money from students. Police later said that the victim is a person with learning disabilities.
MAA, who is originally from Jembrana but lives in Pengosekan with his uncle, reportedly went to Singakerta Public Elementary School 6 with a knife in his hand on Friday. Students who saw the knife were spooked and screamed, causing a scene at the school.
Several people in the area literally took matters in their own hands by rushing to MAA to gang up on him.
Battered and bruised, MAA was then brought to the Ubud Police headquarters. There, officers noticed that MAA was mentally handicapped.
“When we put him into custody, his voice was not clear and he wasn’t focused when we asked him to talk,” Ubud Police Chief I Made Tama said over the weekend.
The police then took MAA to a nearby mental health hospital for treatment.
According to Ubud Police’s Crime Unit Chief Gusti Putu Erawan, the uncle said MAA recently showed symptoms of mental illness after the nephew moved in with him. MAA’s family had planned to bring him to a mental health evaluation prior to the incident.
“But somehow that never happened, so ultimately we assisted the victim’s uncle to bring him [to the hospital],” he said.
