An Indonesian man has come forward to confess that he ate a cat while it was still alive — a deeply disturbing clip of which went viral this week — and apologized, not for his actions, but for creating a public disturbance.
Police in the Central Jakarta subdistrict of Kemayoran, where the clip is believed to have been taken, have been on the hunt for the alleged cat eater since Monday. Though his identity wasn’t known then, reports have emerged since that the man is a resident of Rangasbitung, Banten, named Abah Grandong, who does not even live in Kemayoran.
Abah Grandong has eluded the authorities this week, but he managed to issue a statement of apology through the media yesterday, even though he seemed to not have any remorse about eating the cat.
“We had no intention to make the video nor make it viral to the public,” he said, as quoted by Sindonews yesterday.
“As the video created unrest among the Indonesian public, we apologize to the Indonesian people. The [cat eating] attraction is a Banten ritual called debus.”
Debus is a form of traditional black magic native to Banten that can supposedly make one invincible from physical harm with the help of genies. Its scientific value is obviously highly suspect; in 2017, seven students of the dark arts in Banten’s Tangerang Regency were hospitalized after their guru told them to rinse their hands with acid.
Separately, the Central Jakarta Police say that Abah Grandong is surrendering today.
“Officers have met with his family. The information that [he’s turning himself in] came from members of his family,” Central Jakarta Police Deputy Chief Arie Ardian told Detik yesterday.
Police say Abah Grandong will likely be charged with animal abuse. If convicted, he may face up to nine months in prison.
Violence against animals is not considered to be a serious offense in Indonesia. Under the Criminal Code, animal abuse that leads to the death of the animal is a crime only punishable by up to nine months’ imprisonment, as well as a minuscule IDR300 (US$0.02) fine. Animal rights activists have long called for a revision to the law, which was drawn up during the Dutch colonial era, to introduce harsher punishments to prevent animal cruelty.
