A brawl between students from two schools in South Tangerang led to a horrific injury for one student, who was stabbed in the face with a katana.
The final year vocational student, identified by his initial F, took part in a violent brawl between dozens of students from his school and a rival school yesterday afternoon. According to reports, the brawlers dispersed as soon as somebody pierced a katana (referred to as “samurai sword” or simply “samurai” locally) through F’s cheek.
F was taken to Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Central Jakarta for treatment. Based on reports this morning, the katana still remained lodged in his face though other specifics regarding his condition were not revealed.
“We are focused on the victim’s treatment. He is being operated on this morning,” South Tangerang Police Chief Ferdy Irawan told Tribun today.
The police have yet to identify the culprit who stabbed the katana in F’s face nor have they made any arrests related to yesterday’s violent brawl.
While teenagers around the world get into fights, in Indonesia and especially around Jakarta there is a culture of school rivalries leading to massive ritualistic brawls called tawuran that can involve dozens of participants and can often turn deadly. In a documentary by Al-Jazeera last year, some of the children interviewed that brawling is a rite of passage to manhood, while one said that they fight each other “for fun”.
