Indonesian police investigate porn on electronic billboard

JAKARTA, Indonesia – Police in Indonesia’s capital are investigating the operator of a public video screen that briefly displayed a pornographic movie instead of advertising to passing traffic.

Ten people, including employees of the company operating the electronic billboard, have been questioned, Jakarta police spokesman Awi Setiyono said Monday. Police can’t yet name a suspect, he added.

Twitter in social media-mad Indonesia was abuzz with news of the incident, which occurred not long after Friday prayers last week in the Muslim-majority country.

Many users posted clips of the billboard as it displayed a scene from Japanese pornography on an internet browser.

Adrian Wiedarta, a manager at PT Transito Adimanjati, which operates the advertising screen, blamed the incident on a hacker who he said seized control of the system, allowing pornography to play for about five minutes.

Police assisted by nearby vendors shut off power to the giant video screen as drivers and pedestrians watched the movie.

Setiyono said the police’s cybercrime unit has analyzed several computers seized from the company.

Jakarta police chief Muhammad Iriawan said the perpetrator could be charged under either the Electronic Transaction Law, which carries a maximum prison sentence of six years and a fine of 1 billion rupiah ($77,000), or the Pornography Law, which carries a prison sentence of up to 12 years.