Indonesian Public Astir Over Potentially Lethal Hippopotamus Mishap

“I am sorry [for my actions. It was unintentional and there was no ill-intent on my part,” said the 56-year old.

However, K’s show of contrition did not keep the police from prosecuting her case. “We will continue to legally process the case against K, though we decided not to detain her,” said Bogor regency Police Department chief Police Grand Commissioner Attendant Harun.

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“However, [the police] might charge [K] with a minor charge of animal abuse. If found guilty, she is liable to serve up to three months in jail.”

Harun’s deputy Police Commissioner Attendant Handreas Ardian agreed.

“We have not named her a suspect in the case, as we still need the testimony of other witnesses. They include the individual who was in the car behind K and recorded her actions before uploading it on Instagram.”

Calling for tougher measures

The animal rights community Animal Defenders Indonesia was up in arms over K’s actions. They also deplored the police’s seeming lack of urgency in investigating the incident.

“[The police] should make an example of [K] to prevent a recurrence of her actions. Many animals were put in danger by plastic, so [incidents like this] must stop,” said Animal Defenders Indonesia head Doni Herdaru Tona.

“TSI should do more than put up signs forbidding littering because of its potentially hazardous effects on the animals. They should gather the necessary evidence and use it against the perpetrator to keep incidents like this from ever happening again.”

Doni also urged TSI to install state-of the art surveillance equipment like CCTVs. Consumption of plastics by animals are a recurring problem in Indonesia and around the world, as they have disastrous, often fatal consequences, for the animals.

(Editor: Pythag Kurniati)

Source: 

https://regional.kompas.com/read/2021/03/10/130814378/sederet-fakta-mulut-kuda-nil-dilempar-sampah-plastik-oleh-seorang-nenek?page=all#page2.