West Java Vice Governor Uu Ruzhanul Ulum had to issue a public apology after he inappropriately downplayed the severity of a disturbing child bullying case in his province. An 11-year-old boy died in that case.
Authorities said the boy, who was relentlessly bullied by his peers, passed away last week. He became depressed and refused to eat after his bullies forced him to have sex with a cat, filmed the incident, and posted the video online to compound his humiliation.
On Saturday, Uu met with the victim’s family in Tasikmalaya. Instead of giving them comfort, he gave a statement to the press that will go down in history as one of the most WTF ever given by a government official, perhaps anywhere in the world.
“When we were that age, of course there was bullying. Even a friend of mine [fornicated] with a bull in Cikatomas, I’ll have you know. My neighbor [fornicated] with their chicken when they were around primary school age. It’s just kids joking around. It’s normal,” he said.
“But now with social media, the question is why did [the bullying incident] have to go viral?”
Furthermore, Uu urged the victim’s family to forgive and drop charges against the perpetrators for the sake of the kids’ future. Instead, he said authorities should pursue people who made the bullying video viral online.
On Monday, Uu called a press conference in his office in the provincial capital of Bandung for a mea culpa.
“What I said while I was joking with members of the press [on Saturday] was that it’s normal for kids to tease each other,” he said, adding that his previous drivel was a general statement and not said in the specific context of the 11-year-old boy’s death.
“I apologize for my statement, because when I used to be a kid and taunting each other was normal, even though it’s wrong. I’m sorry for my mistake.”
In its ongoing investigation, local police say three bullies around the same age of the victim have been identified. No charges have been announced thus far.
