Singaporean mistaken for kidnapper after giving candy to child in Batam, gets mobbed by locals

A Singaporean man almost became the target of a lynch mob in Batam on April 29 after he was suspected of trying to kidnap a child.

According to an iNews report on May 1, the man, who was identified as GW, had gone to a convenience store in a residential area at Batu Aji, Batam.

When he came out of the store, the bespectacled man gave some of his sweets to a child who was playing nearby.

An individual saw this and accused GW of trying to kidnap the child. Locals started to crowd around the trio and the mob became more hostile as it grew in size.

Fortunately, a police patrol car was passing and officers stepped in to take the Singaporean away from the mob.

GW had trouble explaining himself at the police station as he did not speak Bahasa Indonesia but the police did not find any reason to suspect a kidnapping attempt as alleged by the locals.

Batam Immigration Office head Samuel Toba said: "What the man did was not a common gesture in the area, so the community grew suspicious."

Toba added that GW was deported in order to remove him from the hostile situation.

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This article was first published in The New Paper. Permission required for reproduction.