An elderly woman in West Jakarta was caught on video admitting her intention to cook several cats for asthma medication, believing that consuming felines is a potent cure for the respiratory disease.
The clip, which has circulated widely online, showed at least four cats lying dead on the ground while the woman defends her intention to boil the felines as outraged residents crowded her.
Animal welfare organization Natha Satwa Nusantara was among the accounts which posted the video. Anisa Ratna, the organization's operational director, said the woman's neighbors caught her bludgeoning the cats to death.
The video was filmed on Saturday in Kalideres, as confirmed by Anggoro Winardi, chief of Kalideres sub-precinct's Crime Unit. Police reportedly apprehended the woman after receiving a tip from residents in the area.
Mulyadih, the neighborhood chief and the owner of one of the cats killed by the woman, was also questioned by the police. The woman reportedly told authorities that her husband suffered from asthma and she believed that eating the felines would cure his illness.
"She believed that her husband had gotten better from his asthma after consuming cat meat," Anggoro said.
Police confiscated a live cat from her house as evidence. Mulyadih decided against pressing charges against the woman, but she was made to sign a declaration promising not to repeat her offense in the future.