Young man arrested for looking for Pokemon in military barracks

A French man was arrested after entering an Indonesian military barracks to search for Pokemon, a virtual reality game on mobile phones.

A French man was arrested for entering a military camp to look for Pokemon. Photo illustration: Asian Correspondent.

Indonesian police said Romain Pierre, 27, a French national, was arrested yesterday for illegally entering a military complex in West Java. Security personnel at the checkpoint caught Pierre as he tried to flee, according to the Asian Correspondent.

Pierre told Indonesian police that he accidentally entered the military area while looking for Pokemon, the virtual reality game for smartphones that is all the rage.

Pierre was released a few hours later, with police confirming he had not intentionally entered a restricted area. Pokemon Go has not yet been officially released in Indonesia, but smartphone users there have already started playing the game.

Some Indonesian security officials say the game could pose "some threat".

Pokemon Go has taken the world by storm since last week. The game was officially released in the US, Australia, New Zealand, the UK, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Some impatient Pokemon players in Indonesia have downloaded emulators to play illegally. They even hire motorbike taxis to roam around hunting for Pokemon.

According to VNE