Hypnotism is transfixing Jakarta<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): City residents are worried about the growth in
\ncrime committed by men and women, armed only with words to daze
\nand deceive their victims.<\/p>\n
In a recent interview with The Jakarta Post, several victims
\nurged the police to take immediate action to stop these people,
\nwho have started preying on poorer people from the villages.<\/p>\n
Victims report they were helpless, and had to obey the
\nrobbers' instructions, giving up their jewelry and other
\nvaluables or handing over all the money in their bank account.<\/p>\n
It seems the groups have various techniques. Often, the
\noperation will involve at least two accomplices, sometimes a
\nchild.<\/p>\n
Nesah, a 60-year-old housewife from the small village of
\nPabuaran in Tangerang, 35 kilometers west of here, said she had a
\npainful experience a few weeks ago on a minibus to the local
\nMalabar market.<\/p>\n
On the minibus, once of the three male passengers struck up a
\nconversation and offered to exchange his three pieces of \"foreign
\ncurrency worth Rp 5 million\" for her jewelry.<\/p>\n
After a short conversation, the old woman handed over all the
\njewelry she was wearing and took them home to give them her
\nremaining jewelry and Rp 750,000 in cash.<\/p>\n
Nesah only realized she had been cheated when a money changer
\nrefused to accept her \"foreign currency\".<\/p>\n
N. Herbawati from Mampang in South Jakarta said that her
\nmother-in-law, a university lecturer, was tricked in Blok M Plaza
\nby a group of women who styled themselves \"wise women\" from an
\nIslamic Boarding School in Central Java.<\/p>\n
After being preached at for a little while, her mother-in-law
\nfound herself unable to reject the women's demands. The luckless
\nlecturer then gave them all her valuables and withdrew all her
\nsavings from a bank nearby, Rp 10 million.<\/p>\n
In return, she was handed a bag of white paper and white-and-
\nyellow coins.<\/p>\n
Another Tangerang housewife, who refused to be named, said the
\nshe was deceived by a woman wearing a jilbab (Moslem scarf) who
\nwas with her five-year-old girl she claimed was her daughter.<\/p>\n
The woman came up to her and asked her to take care of her
\ndaughter for a while as she wanted to buy something to eat at a
\nnearby canteen.<\/p>\n
A few minutes later, the woman came back and asked the woman
\nto put all her valuables, worth around Rp 150,000, into a
\nhandkerchief. Later, she found the handkerchief was empty.<\/p>\n
Shopping centers, bus stops and terminals are the favorite
\nplaces for the criminals. Some said that they observe their
\npotential victims before the \"sting\" to make sure they are worth
\nrobbing.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, there have been no authenticated reports so far
\nabout the \"tools\" used by these people, believed to be a well-
\norganized syndicate.<\/p>\n
Many believed that they use the power of black magic or
\nhypnotism, using words and body contact to temporarily \"paralyze\"
\ntheir victims, who then hand over their belongings.<\/p>\n
All of the victims say that they gave up their money and
\njewelry without a fight and only realized that they had been
\ncheated later.<\/p>\n
\"I regained consciousness only after the fourth day,\" said
\nNesah, the old woman.<\/p>\n
A number of foreigners have also been among the victims of the
\ncriminals.<\/p>\n
Andi Benson, an Australian, wrote in Your Letters of June 17,
\n1996 that his wife was hypnotized by two men at Kelapa Gading
\nMall.<\/p>\n
She \"found herself unable to resist withdrawing money from her
\naccount and handing it over to the crooks,\" he wrote.<\/p>\n
Benson said that his wife regained consciousness only after
\nthe men had fled in a taxi.<\/p>\n
Reni, and Tony Pangihutan, two of the Post's employees,
\nrecalled their experience as \"a bloody nightmare.\"<\/p>\n
\"I swear to God that I'll kick them if they try to cheat me
\nagain,\" said secretary Reni, who lost around Rp 10 million.<\/p>\n
She took them from her office to the bedroom of her house to
\nhand over her cash.<\/p>\n
Pangihutan said: \"From the beginning, I knew that these men
\nwanted to cheat me but I don't know why I just followed their
\ninstructions and later gave them all my stuff, my wallet,
\ndocuments, Rp 130,000 in cash, jewelry, a radio beeper and even
\nmy new tennis rackets and a wet T-shirt to them.\"<\/p>\n
Pangihutan was cheated by a group of three men, who pretending
\nnot to know each other, in Pasar Baru shopping center in Central
\nJakarta last Saturday afternoon. He said he tried to get away
\nfrom the group but \"it was too hard.\"<\/p>\n
City Police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said that this
\nkind of crime is quite common.<\/p>\n
\"We hope the victims report these cases immediately to help us
\ntrack down the suspects,\" Iman said here yesterday. (bsr\/28)<\/p>",
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