“As his parent I deeply apologize for my son’s mistake of hurting the cat. For communities aggrieved, my deepest apologies. I also like to take care of animals, thank you,” the father said in the video, which has been shared widely on social media. 

Last Saturday, a man who goes by the name Dewa Candra on Facebook posted a photo of a white cat that was hanged on a tree. Along with the photo, Dewa posted that he had been hunting the cat after it ate nine of his pigeons. 

The post quickly went viral and shared in other social media platforms, sparking outrage among many Balinese people. 

Warning: disturbing content

Two local animal rights organizations, Bali Animal Defender and Bali Cat Lovers, filed a report against Dewa with the Bali Police on Monday, alleging that he violated Article 302 of Indonesia’s criminal code on animal abuse, which carries a maximum prison sentence of nine months. 

Jovand Imanuel Calvary, who heads Bali Animal Defender, told Kumparan that Dewa has apologized and requested for the matter to be resolved in a kekeluargaan manner. 

Kekeluargaan roughly translates to “between family members,” and refers to the Indonesian euphemism for amicably coming to an agreement not to press charges for a crime. 

Jovand added that they are planning to conduct a mediation session later today at the Bali Police. 

“Because he has asked for this to be resolved in a kekeluargaan manner. But I can’t give a yes or no response just yet. Tomorrow it depends on the mediation, whether we will proceed with the charges or otherwise, I will leave it to my attorney,” Jovand was quoted as saying.