A 13-year-old child was stripped naked and paraded by residents after he and his friends allegedly stole a jacket from a clothesline in Rawa Bambu Besar, North Bekasi, West Java.

“We have arrested a 40-year-old suspect [who incited the mob assault],” Bekasi Police chief Sr. Comr. Indarto said on Friday, as reported by kompas.com, adding that police were searching for two more suspects.

Indarto said the incident happened last Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in Rawa Bambu Besar, when the victim was playing with two friends near the perpetrator’s house. One of his friends reportedly took a jacket belonging to the perpetrator and hanging on a clothesline.

That prompted residents to chase the three children. Two of them were caught, while the third one managed to escape.

The angry residents stripped naked one of the children in search of possible hidden weapons.

“The residents said there had been missing cars’ rearview mirrors and brawls in the neighborhood, and they thought the children were the culprits,” Indarto said.

The residents beat up the naked child.

Later, the residents brought and reported the two children to the local community unit (RW) head, after which the children were returned to their parents. (ami)