Australian man may face charges for spitting on imam at Indonesian mosque
An Australian man is suspected of spitting into the face of an imam at a mosque in the Indonesian city of Bandung, and may face more than one year in prison.
Key points:
- Brenton McArthur has been named a suspect under Articles 335 and 315 of Indonesia’s Criminal Code, which regulates unpleasant acts and insults
- If convicted, he faces imprisonment of up to 14 months
- A second Australian man could face five years in prison after an alleged drunken, naked rampage in Indonesia’s Aceh province
Indonesian police said Brenton Craig Abbas Abdullah McArthur, 47, was staying at a hotel right near the Jami-al Muhajir mosque.
In the early hours of Friday morning, he allegedly went in and approached Imam M Basri Anwar at the pulpit, apparently to complain about the sound of recitations from the Koran being read through the mosque’s loud-speakers.
He then leaned forward and was captured on CCTV vision spitting into the imam’s face, while swearing repeatedly.
Police said they tracked Mr McArthur via his passport to Jakarta’s airport where he was about to fly home to Australia.
Indonesian news website Kumparan said Mr McArthur was accused under Articles 335 and 315 of the Criminal Code, which regulate unpleasant acts and insults. Should he be charged and convicted, Mr McArthur may face imprisonment for up to one year and two months.
“We have taken all of the evidence available and have asked for statements from five witnesses,” Bandung police chief Kombes Budi Sartono told Kumparan news.
Mr McArthur has since posted a video on his Instagram account claiming he was the victim of racism.
His video post said: “Stop crying your rascist (sic) tears. I am a Muslim and this is just a rascist (sic), threatening a bule (foreigner) and laughing behind a coward.”
Video footage from mosque security cameras shows a man in a baseball cap approach the imam inside the mosque.
After speaking him briefly, the man leans forward and spits into his face.
The imam recoils and flees, and the man turns and walks away.
Queenslander Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones, 23, was on a surfing holiday when on Thursday morning he allegedly left his room while naked and chased and struck residents in a village.
He faces either two-and-a-half years in prison if the injuries caused are minor or up to five years in prison if the victims’ injuries are more serious.
