"I AM THIEVE [sic]"

Photo by Dije Siha Rahmad

When an Australian couple was caught on CCTV stealing a bike on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan last week, local law enforcement meted out a punishment aimed at (1) embarrassing the pair and (2) deterring other would-be thieves.

The day after the attempted theft, members of a locally organized security force—at less than two miles long and with fewer than 1,000 permanent residents, Gili Trawangan has no police presence—escorted the Australians on a "walk of shame." Such spectacles are not, the Guardian reports, uncommon on the island, with both tourists and locals subjected to the public shaming.

The Aussies got off easy, if you ask me, though the English on their neck placards is pretty grating...