Aspiring Pokémon masters are at it again: a French man was recently detained for trespassing on military grounds while playing Pokémon GO.
This incident follows recent events of peculiar Pokémon GO reports that outlined how absurd aspiring Pokémon masters have been, following the game's launch. There have been instances where people admitted on social media that they were driving a car while using their phones to play the game (and this is definite no-no).
On the darker side, others have been using the game to commit theft and petty crimes by luring unsuspecting players to areas where they can easily jump the said victim. This is done by adding a Pokémon beacon in-game, which attracts a fair number of unwary Pokémon GO players.
The current headline details a man identified as Romain Pierre, 27 years old, who was reportedly jogging around the facility when he "unintentionally" entered the military complex in Cirebon. Pierre was purportedly caught at one of the ground's checkpoints after he tried to run and avoid military personnel.
Eventually, the man was released a few hours later when police investigations concluded that Pierre only trespassed the military complex because of his transfixed attention in catching a Pokémon presumably located within the grounds.
And just in case you were wondering if Pierre flew all the way to Indonesia just to catch whatever rare Pokémon he was gunning for, it's a yes and a no. According to reports, Pierre works for a company in Jakarta and was only visiting Cirebon — about 118 miles away from the country's capital. There's not enough information to deduce if Pierre specifically chose the area because of the Pokémon or if it simply happened, like how the police reports described, "unintentionally."
Pokémon GO, for the uninitiated, is an augmented reality (AR) mobile game that tasks players with collecting Pokémon in real-world locations around the globe. While the game is yet to be released in Indonesia, users with an existing network subscription in countries where the game is already released may access the game, apparently, from anywhere in the globe — as evident in how Pierre came to be detained.
An Indonesian government official does note that the app has the potential to boost the country's tourism ratings as people would presumably flock the country to catch Indonesian-limited Pokémon. On the other hand, security officials are wary of this innovation as it may pose some unprecedented threats to public safety.
Photo: Caleb Roenigk | Flickr
