The Depok babi ngepet hoax (2021)

In April 2021 a video of a wild boar being put into a cage drew crowds of residents in Bedahan, Sawangan, Depok, as a babi ngepet. Police declared it a hoax and arrested the organiser, a local religious teacher, whom a court sentenced to four years in prison.

Kompas reported a video of a wild boar being put into a cage while crowds of residents watched in Bedahan, Sawangan, Depok. The animal was presented as a babi ngepet.

On 29 April 2021 the Depok police chief, Imran, told Tempo the babi ngepet event in Sawangan was a hoax and that everything that had gone viral was false. Police arrested an ustaz, a local religious teacher, as the one who had orchestrated it. CNN Indonesia quoted Imran saying the suspect had worked with about eight other people to invent the story and make it look real.

Kompas reported in November 2021 that the organiser bought a piglet online for Rp 900,000, plus Rp 200,000 for delivery. Its headline says he took the idea from a viral story on YouTube and later expressed regret.

On 6 December 2021 the Depok District Court sentenced him to four years in prison for spreading false news, according to Tempo. Prosecutors had asked for three years.