A man in Tangerang regency, Banten was arrested by the police for allegedly slitting the neck of his neighbor’s toddler, with the suspect claiming that he was spurred to do so after hearing supernatural whispers.
The suspect, identified by his initials RS, committed the crime on Monday afternoon in a housing complex located in Tigaraksa district. Eddy Sumantri Saputra, who heads Tigaraksa subprecinct’s Crime Investigation Unit, said that RS suddenly went to the victim’s house — which is located in front of the suspect’s — and picked up a gardening blade.
RS approached the 2-year-old boy in the guest room and slashed his neck. A family member saw the disturbing incident and screamed for help, while RS made an attempt to hurt himself before his neighbors stopped him. The toddler thankfully survived, but he suffered deep wounds from the attack and is set to undergo surgery.
“We’re still looking into the suspect’s motives, but he admitted that he often felt the desire to commit crime or injure other people,” Eddy said yesterday.
RS’ family reportedly said that his behavior had gotten strange in the days leading to the incident. The police sought to take RS to a psychiatric hospital, but the facility is reportedly closed.
RS, who could potentially be charged with violating articles under Indonesia’s Child Protection Law, reportedly claimed to have heard whispers prior to the incident. The case is sadly not the first of its kind in the country, where earlier this year in March, a man from Lampung province also claimed to have heard supernatural whispers encouraging him to behead his father and parade the head around his village while driving around on a motorcycle.
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