Viral Man In Palmerah Climbs To The Top Of Tile Accused Of Thief, Police: He Is Mentally Retarded

Screen capture video of mentally retarded man riding the roof of a grocery shop in Palmerah

JAKARTA - A viral video on social media shows a man suspected of being a thief climbing on the roof of a grocery shop in the Palmerah area, West Jakarta. The video was uploaded to the Instagram account @recordjakarta, Tuesday, January 25.

In the video, a shirtless man can be seen climbing the roof of a grocery store in West Jakarta. Then the man fell and was caught by the locals.

"According to residents' information, the man was caught by a resident entering a grocery shop. However, he had not had time to take the items at the grocery store. An annoyed resident had beaten the suspected thief," the account wrote.

In the video, it can be seen that a number of other residents and PPSU officers had tried to dispel the alleged thief from the residents' frustration.

Meanwhile, the Head of the Palmerah Police, Kompol Dodi Abdulrohim, confirmed that the man was not a thief. The man with the initials R has mental retardation. The incident occurred in Jatipulo, Palmerah, Monday, January 24, at 7:30 WIB.

"He is not a thief, so there is indeed an element of mental retardation and has been mediated to be returned to his parents," said Dodi when contacted, Tuesday, January 25.

Dodi said that R's family had forgiven the actions of residents who had accused their son of being a thief.

"(R) the residents there too, (the family) have forgiven," he said.