ISIS hoax: High school students in Denpasar post fake terror letter

Two high school students in Denpasar apparently thought it would be funny to threaten their high school with terrorism in a letter signed by ISIS. 

In a letter using Arabic characters at the top, the body text in Indonesian read: “We ISIS, are already at SMANSA, ready to devastate you with an attack. We are not afraid to die, GOD IS GREAT!”.

This “prank” at SMA Negeri I Denpasar (commonly called SMANSA), comes after an attack in Jakarta earlier this month that Indonesian officials have marked as ISIS’s first strike of violence in Indonesia. The students aren’t the first in Bali to threaten terror after the Jakarta attack—a local government office in Buleleng, North Bali received a similar letter claiming to be from the Jakarta attackers, but that was later deemed a fake by National Police. 

Police are alarmed by this increasing trend to mimic ISIS terrorists.

“Although it was just for fun, this trend is just not funny. If it’s using the word ‘bomb’, it’s not funny,” Bali Police Chief Insp. Gen. Sugeng Priyanto said on Wednesday to Tribun Bali

Priyanto added police are investigating further to better determine the motive of the two students, identified in reports by their initials, PAKP and PCM.

Separately, the Director of Criminal Investigation for Bali Police, Commissioner Bambang Yogisworo says when a teacher found the letter attached to the wall of the teacher’s lounge, the school immediately reported the matter to East Denpasar Police. He explained that the two students identified as the letter’s authors have been under intensive investigation since last night so it’s not yet clear if they will be detained or released after being examined by Bali Police. 

“We must keep the peace and security in Bali. We ask the support of people in Bail,” Yogisworo said. 



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