YouTuber refuses to apologise for offensive 'prank' disguising garbage as food

An Indonesian YouTuber has come under fire for pranking "homeless people" by handing out garbage and rubble as food.

Shocking video shows Ferdian Paleka and a friend reaching into trash cans, pulling out garbage and putting it into cardboard boxes with instant noodle labels on the front.

They then loaded them into the trunk of their car and can be seen handing them to two young transgender women on a street in Bandung, West Java.

They also reportedly handed out the fake care packages to children on the street.

According to Kumparan, Paleka said at the start of the video:

So we want to survey bencong on the streets, whether they are around or not in this fasting month [of Ramadan]. We will distribute groceries containing bricks and garbage. If there are any bencong, we’ll give them the boxes, but if they’re not around, that means this city is safe from waria.

“Bencong” and “waria” are derogatory terms for trans people in Indonesia.

The trans women – identified as 39-year-old Sani and 56-year-old Dani – reported the incident to police after they became aware of the YouTube video circulating online.

According to Coconuts Jakarta, Sani said:

Of course we’re humiliated and shocked that people could see us.

The backlash to the video on social media was swift, with many calling it offensive.

In fact, some even showed up to Paleka’s home, protesting outside his house.

The police were called as Paleka reportedly “ran away” from the protest.

The video on YouTube has since been taken down and Paleka recorded a video addressing the backlash.

In it, he made a fake apology and said:

I personally would like to apologise for what I’ve done… not.

How trashy.