An 8-year-old boy severely beaten for his family’s faith died a week later; however, the beating was not given as the cause of death.
The second grader — who is from a Christian family in Indonesia’s Sumatra — died May 26 of a ruptured appendix seven days after four or five Muslim fifth graders brutally beat him. Morning Star News, quoting Indonesia’s Antara News Agency, says the autopsy report issued May 27 states the child died from an abdominal infection related to the ruptured appendix.
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The report also notes injuries consistent with blunt force trauma.
The boy’s father said ethnicity and Christian faith were the reasons his son was bullied, states Morning Star, quoting Jawapos.com.
“A week before, he had been bullied a lot,” the father is quoted as saying. “The perpetrators speak about his ethnicity, his religion.”
The severe beating occurred May 19. That night, the boy experienced fever, pain and an enlarged abdomen, his father told Jawapos.com, according to Morning Star.
The boy died in a hospital.
“Indonesian society,” notes Morning Star, “has adopted a more conservative Islamic character, and churches involved in evangelistic outreach are at risk of being targeted by Islamic extremist groups, according to Open Doors.”
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