A video clip of a man burning what appears to be a copy of the Holy Bible has triggered a widespread condemnation online.
The man speaking in fluent Tongan can be heard telling another man to make sure he took a video of what he was doing and a good shot of the cover of the book which he was showing to him with the words – “Ko e Tohi Tabu Katoa.” (The Holy Bible)
The incident has sparked anger online and drawing threats from Facebook users wanting to know the identity of the man.
The footage does not capture the man but his hands can be seen tearing the book apart before burning the pieces.
One four-minute and seven seconds video posted on Facebook shows what appears to be the man before putting the pieces of paper into a two-burner gas stove which was being on with blue flame.
The overwhelming majority of Tonga consider themselves Christians. They treated copies of the Holy Bible with reverence and any move to desecrate or destroy the holy book is seen as a grave insult.
The footage was widely circulated online this morning and one share showed it has been viewed almost 20,000 times within three hours after it was posted. It received 538 reactions, 506 comments and 611 shares.
One commenter on Facebook asked: “Who will he bury after he burned the Bible?”
“I hope you rot in hell,” another wrote.
“He is bringing curse to his family.”
