Fact Check: Viral video does not show Uyghur Muslim being thrashed by Chinese cops

A video is being widely shared on social media in which a policeman is seen brutally beating a man. Those sharing the video claim that it shows a Chinese police official beating a Uyghur Muslim in China.

The video was shared with the caption, “According to this viral video, allegedly a Chinese soldier brutally beat a Uyghur Muslim for keeping the Qur'an at his home. China knows the medicine of the most dangerous virus. (sic)”

A similar post can be seen here and here.

SouthCheck found that the claim is false. We found that the video is of a policeman beating an alleged pickpocketer in Jakarta, Indonesia.

On doing a Google reverse image search, we found a website with a screenshot of the viral video. The report was published on May 24, 2017, and suggested that TNI officers were punishing pickpockets at Depok Baru Train Station. Depok Baru Train Station is in Indonesia.  

Another website, Tribun Medan uploaded a screenshot of the video with a suggestion that the video is from Jakarta, Indonesia.

We also found a tweet by Lijian Zhao, deputy director general of the Information Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, China, debunking the claim. His tweet read, “Fake news! Not Chinese language!! Not even Chinese police uniform!!! This is sheer propaganda against China, trying to sabotage relations between China & muslim countries. There’s no ‘East Turkistan’ in China. Only terrorists & their sympathizers call Xinjiang ‘East Turkistan’. (sic)”

Hence, we can ascertain that the viral video is from Indonesia, not China.