His family may not be as privileged as those of the kids on MTV’s My Super Sweet 16, but this 16-year-old son of a humble farmer in Indonesia is at least as spoiled as that girl who threw a tantrum because she didn’t want a friggin’ Lexus for her birthday. But she, at least, didn’t set anything on fire in retaliation.
Last Friday, a 16-year-old AP living in the Jambon district of Ponorogo, East Java, burned down his parents’ house simply because they didn’t buy him a phone… immediately.
“The kid asked for a mobile phone, but his parents weren’t going to buy it yet so he burned down his parents’ house,” said Jambon Police Chief Djoko Winarto, as quoted by Kompas.
Djoko added that AP’s father had actually agreed to buy his son a new phone but he would have to wait until after the Idul Fitri Lebaran holiday on June 15. This upset AP, who then set fire to some logs in the kitchen before the fire spread and destroyed the whole house.
Luckily, no one was hurt in the fire, but the police estimated the material damages to be more than IDR75 million (US$5,296), i.e. much more than any phone.
Djoko said AP had previously shown signs of being a spoiled brat (our words), having once threatened to kill his parents if they didn’t buy him a motorcycle. That particular incident caused quite the drama in the neighborhood, to the point that AP was summoned by the police to sign a pledge that he would not repeat his actions.
“After making that pledge, his parents bought him an automatic Yamaha motorcycle not long afterwards,” Djoko said.
According to reports, AP was kept in custody at the Jambon Police station after he burned down the house, as authorities feared he might be attacked by angry locals. The police said he would be transferred to the local Social Agency for behavioral coaching today.
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