Frenchman detained in Indonesia for playing Pokemon Go on military base
19th July 2016
A FRENCHMAN is believed to be among the first of Pokemon Go players to land in hot water for playing the smartphone-based game in a high security area, leading to his arrest in Indonesia this morning.
Indonesian police said the man was detained after he entered a military base while playing the augmented reality game.
A spokesman for West Java police said Tuesday that Romain Pierre, 27, was caught at a checkpoint after initially running away when challenged by security guards at the military complex in Cirebon.
Col. Yusri Yunus, the police spokesman, said Pierre was released after a few hours because it became apparent “he unintentionally entered the complex as he was hunting Pokemon while jogging.”
Pokemon Go has not been officially released in Indonesia but is already popular.
Some officials have voiced worries that the game could pose a security threat.
The mobile game, which uses augmented reality to allow players to search for and ‘catch’ Pokémon, has taken the world by storm since its release last week.
So far, it has only been released in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Portugal.
Even though the Asian release is still up in the air, impatient fans have been downloading and installing an unofficial APK file, which may, however, make their mobile devices vulnerable to being hacked, and runs the risk of their phones being banned from playing the game once it is officially released.
Those who are willing to take the risk have been seen roaming the streets, with resourceful Indonesian players resorting to hiring ‘ojek’ (motorcycle taxi) services to hunt for Pokémon.
