Police arrest teen boy and girl for riding motorcycle in underwear during ‘sahur on the road’ in E. Kalimantan

Photo: Instagram
Photo: Instagram

Sahur is the meal Muslims have before they go on to fast during the day during Ramadan, and sahur on the road (SOTR) is ostensibly a tradition in which Muslims share their pre-dawn meals outside of their homes to strengthen community bonds. Nowadays, though, SOTR in Indonesia has often become a pretext for gang activity, which often involve violence, and, as was the case in East Kalimantan recently, some partial nudity.

On Sunday, a video was taken in the town of Tanjung Redeb town in East Kalimantan showing what appeared to be a group of teenagers driving on their motorcycles while generally being raucous. Some of the teenage boys can be seen driving topless while others can be seen only wearing boxers, but by far the biggest reason the video went viral is due to the appearance of a girl who was riding on the back of one of the motorcycles while only wearing pants and a bra.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BxXbK-Gnb7l/

The group’s actions, particular that of the scantily-clad girl, were condemned by the local government and religious authorities, including the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) — the highest Islamic clerical body in Indonesia — who said that it was a direct violation of religion’s norms and the spirit of Ramadan, which is essentially about self-control and dedication to God.

On Monday, local police arrested the girl, a 16-year-old identified by her initials ND, as well as one 19-year-old boy, identified as AD, who was seen driving in his underwear.

“AD was the one dancing on the motorcycle in his underwear. ND is the girl who took off her top to reveal her bra in the viral video. We made them take urine tests, but they both came back negative [for illegal drug use],” Berau Regency Police Crime Investigation Unit Head Agus Arif Wijayanto said in a press release, as picked up by Merdeka.

Both AD and ND confessed that they were in the viral video to the police and have been charged with lewd behavior in public, which is punishable by up to two years and eight months in prison according to Indonesia’s Criminal Code.

This year, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan has banned SOTR activities in the capital, urging Jakarta’s youth to have sahur at home instead to preserve peace during Ramadan.



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