Pranks are supposed to be fun.
Like when Subway announced it was introducing two new durian sandwiches called Italian B.M.T Durian Delite and Chicken Durian Delite.
I mean sure, I everyone cried a little bit when we realised that it was just an April Fool’s day joke, but it was still pretty funny and no one was hurt (ok we were a little hurt, to be honest).
But there are some pranks out there that are so cruel you start to wonder why these pranksters are out on the streets instead of being in Netflix’s Mindhunter.
YouTuber Faces 12 Year’s Jailtime for Prank of Him Giving Garbage as Food Donation During COVID-19 Outbreak
YouTuber Ferdian Paleka is in a whole lot of trouble.
Last week, the vlogger uploaded a video in which he and his friend Tubagus Fahddinar claimed they were going to hand out “aid packages” in the form of instant noodle boxes to people they called bencong, a pejorative Indonesian term for transwomen.
These “donations” took place on the streets of West Java’s provincial capital of Bandung during Ramadan.
“We want to survey whether or not the bencong are on the streets in this fasting month… If we encounter them, we’ll give them the packages. But if they’re not around, that means the city is safe from them” Ferdian said in the video.
People might be struggling to get food, so this sounds like a nice, touching gesture, right?
The only problem was that this was actually a prank, and they filled the instant noodle boxes with bricks and garbage instead.
According to the Jakarta Post, the video appeared to show Ferdian and his friend handing over the fake donations while laughing at several transwomen they met on the streets.
YouTube has since removed the video, but netizens are outraged by the vlogger’s cruel prank.
Protest Outside His House
Many viewers, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights activists, slammed Ferdian on social media, while others claimed Ferdian had previously posted videos with content that degraded women and sex workers.
Last Sunday (3 May), angry viewers also protested outside Ferdian’s home in the Baleendah subdistrict in Bandung.
Fake Apology
You’d think that the backlash would make Ferdian realise his mistake, but the Indonesian vlogger seems to have been born without the ability to feel empathy.
His next “prank” was to upload a fake apology in his Instagram stories, where he said he would turn himself in if he got 30,000 more followers first.
Permintaan maaf Ferdian Paleka pic.twitter.com/u6klrHqPuE
— IG @kabar.jabar (@twitkabarjabar) May 3, 2020
Even if you don’t understand the language, his obnoxious face and tone at the end clearly show that he’s not sincere.
“Treated like trash”
Ferdian’s friend Tubagus handed himself over to the Bandung Police the day after the protests, but Ferdian had gone into hiding.
The four transwomen who fell victim to the prank reported Ferdian and his friends to the Bandung Police on Monday.
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One victim said she was initially happy to receive the “aid package”, but become angered when she discovered that they contained a brick and rotten bean sprouts.
“[We were] treated like trash. We hoped to get noodles but it turned out they were [a brick and garbage]. I feel hurt and humiliated,” she said.
Arrested in sting operation
Ferdian was later caught and arrested by the West Java police on Friday, 8 May, after a sting operation, according to Mothership.
Ferdian had a plan for his father to pick him and his co-creator up at Merak Port in Banten, upon returning from his hideout in Palembang, South Sumatra.
Once the police had found out about the plan, they launched a four-day manhunt and monitored Ferdian’s father.
Then they followed Ferdian’s father and uncle when they went to pick Ferdian up and arrested them on the way.
Could Face 12 Years in Jail
Ferdian might come to regret this prank more than he thinks, because the head of the Bandung Police Criminal Investigation Department said he could be charged with violating two separate defamation laws, which carries a maximum punishment of 12 years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rp 12 billion (S$1.14 million).
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Ferdian:
I don’t usually celebrate the imprisonment of youths, but this kid deserves it.
If you’re a fan of pranks, please stick to the humane ones. Don’t hurt someone just to get some laughs or likes from your followers.
The ones who enjoy this kind of content aren’t the type of people you should be trying to impress anyway.
So, the next time you’re about to prank someone for an online video, ask yourself one question: am I genuinely hurting anyone in this prank?
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Many pranksters don’t even know they’re being cruel to their victims, and some can feel the negative effects for the rest of their lives.
Subway: I feel like you’re not over the durian sandwich prank
NO ONE SHOULD EVER LIE ABOUT DURIAN!
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