A transwoman was allegedly burned to death last week in North Jakarta’s Cilincing neighborhood by a group of thugs, who accused her of stealing.
The victim, identified by her initial M, was allegedly beaten up by at least five thugs on Friday, according to a report from Kumparan. She was accused of stealing a wallet and a cellphone, but neither of the items had been found at her place of residence and she reportedly said she didn’t know anything about them.
The thugs then poured gasoline all over M and set her on fire. She suffered serious burns and was briefly treated at a local hospital before succumbing to her injuries. As reported by Kumparan, she died on Saturday.
At the moment, it is not yet known if her murder was motivated by transphobia, but the incident quickly gained traction online and was widely shared by feminist and LBTQ groups on social media, including Arus Pelangi.
TRANSPHOBIA KILLS!!!!
Seorang kawan Transpuan di Jakarta Utara bernama Mira meninggal dunia krn menjadi korban pembakaran oleh massa.
Saat ini kerabat Mira butuh melunasi biaya perawatan Mira sewaktu di RS Koja, biaya ambulans, dan biaya pemakaman.
Bantuan bisa dikirim ke: https://t.co/7GHsbSLTVy
— Arus Pelangi (@aruspelangi) April 6, 2020
In addition, police in North Jakarta have also confirmed the incident.
“Yes, there was that incident. At the moment, we’re still pursuing the suspects,” Cilincing Police’s Chief of Crime Unit Bryan Rio Wicaksono told Kumparan yesterday.
Instances of mob violence still occur with alarming frequency in Indonesia, and not just in the country’s rural areas. In 2017, less than a week after a football fan died in the West Java capital of Bandung due to injuries he sustained after being mistakenly attacked by a group of his fellow Persib supporters, a man in Jakarta’s satellite city of Bekasi was beaten by an angry mob and burned alive for allegedly stealing speakers from a mosque.
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