INDONESIA — A 12-year-old girl was killed by a stranger last Wednesday afternoon (19 Oct) in a bid to rob her mobile phone as she was walking home from a mosque in Cimahi, West Java.
Based on CCTV footage that has circulated on social media, the victim was seen walking with her friend before they separated ways.
A moment later, the suspect who was wearing a white shirt rode a motorcycle passed her and then parked his vehicle on the side of the road before walking towards the victim.
The suspect is said to have chased after the victim – outside of the CCTV footage – and stabbed her with a bayonet.
According to local reports, the suspect had allegedly asked for the victim’s mobile phone but she did not bring her mobile phone with her to the mosque. This allegedly made him mad and he then stabbed her in the back.
After that, the suspect searched the victim’s bag but did not find a cell phone. Then he searched her body but also couldn’t find any. He then ran away from the scene as seen in the video.
A man told local media that he heard a girl’s voice shouting, “Mother! Mother! Mother!” around the time the stabbing took place.
The victim walked towards her house after being stabbed and collapsed just a few meters from her house.
She was taken to the hospital after a passerby informed her family that she was lying on the ground motionless.
Unfortunately, she had bled too much from the stab in her back and could not be resuscitated.
Indonesian Police claim that the motive for committing the botched robbery was because the suspect was mocked by his friend when he had to borrow a mobile phone, saying that it was shameful for a 22-year-old man not to have his own phone.
Triggered by the comment, the suspect borrowed his friend’s motorcycle and was determined to steal a mobile phone. He went home and took a bayonet then went around looking for a potential target.
The suspect was soon identified by a member of the public to the police after it had held a press release on 23 October, asking for information related to the killer of the 12-year-old girl.
The member of the public told police that the motorcycle and sandals used in the crime were borrowed by the man from his friend.
In another CCTV footage that the police received, the suspect was seen circling around the housing complex in search of another victim.
On the same day, the suspect was arrested in a boarding room in the Bandung area. He initially planned to run away to Kalimantan on Monday.
Cimahi Police Chief AKBP Imron Ermawan said that the suspect was allegedly assisted by his father to escape from police arrest and is currently placed under police investigation.
