This was the scene when a young boy climbed onto the roof of a medical clinic and refused to come down after his parents took him to be circumcised.
The youngster, believed to be about five years old, ran out of the clinic and scrambled up onto the roof of the building where he stayed, refusing to climb down, for two hours.
Dr Anik Sutari said she had never seen anything like it in all of her years of practice in the city of Serang, capital of Banten province, on the Indonesian island of Java.
She shared the photograph of the boy’s stunt on Facebook and admitted she had been stumped as to what to do.
Dr Sutari said: “Throughout my professional history, out of the 20 years I have been doing circumcisions and the thousands of children I have circumcised, this is the first time I’ve seen a child flee to the top of the roof.”
She and the boy’s parents had been reluctant to follow the frightened youngster onto the roof in case he tried to run away and fell.
Dr Sutari said that it was only after two hours that the parents thought to contact the boy’s schoolteacher who had a good relationship with him.
She added: “It’s true… As soon as the teacher comes, with a little persuasion finally the child wants to come down…
“And even more magical, the child walks himself to the circumcision clinic, and positioned himself for the procedure without being led or forced.”
And Dr Sutari said the boy did not struggle, cry or even complain when she was finally able to circumcise him – three hours later than planned.
The doctor’s post on Facebook has struck a chord with online commentators, most of whom had nothing but praise for the youngster’s instincts.
Netizen ‘Hedi Rahadiansyah’ said: “The boy was smart and courageous, he is still small, but he was smart to go up onto the roof.”
‘Sri Lestari Suprapto’ commented: “He is extraordinary”, ‘Budi Antoro’ agreed: “Amazing…”, and ‘Cambodian Gudeg’ noted: “The power of the teacher… Hehehe!”
Most Indonesian boys are circumcised around the age of five. The practice is particularly prevalent among Muslims who make up the vast majority of the islands’ population.
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Story By: Simon Glover, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder,  Agency: Asia Wire Report
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