Man posing as Westlife member takes widow for a ride<\/p>\n
Theresa Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor<\/p>\n
A widow with two children, said to be under the influence of
\nhypnosis, became the victim of a fraud allegedly perpetrated by a
\nman claiming to belong to the Indonesian Air Force. He gave the
\nwoman the picture of a member of pop band Westlife, which he said
\nwas a photo of himself taken during his college days.<\/p>\n
The man, Wawan, 45, is currently being hunted by the North
\nBogor Police after allegedly getting away with Rp 6.5 million
\ncash and home appliances belonging to the victim, Jumbuh
\nWarsiati, 26.<\/p>\n
The two first met on the Sinar Jaya bus on Sept. 22 while en
\nroute to the town of Banjarnegara in Central Java. Two days
\nlater, Wawan visited Jumbuh at her house in Ciparigi village,
\nBogor, where he spent the night.<\/p>\n
Before he left, he gave the victim the photograph of Mark, a
\nWestlife band member, as something to remember him by, before
\nallegedly taking Jumbuh's tape recorder.<\/p>\n
\"Because Jumbuh was under hypnosis, she believed what he said
\nand even fell in love with him,\" said Mrs. Rohmad, the owner of
\nJumbuh's rented house.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 26, Wawan returned and told Jumbuh he had proposed to
\nher parents and paid Rp 15 million as a dowry. When he left, he
\nallegedly took Jumbuh's other electronic appliances and a
\nmattress.<\/p>\n
Jumbuh's younger sister, Anti, tried to warn her sibling that
\nshe had been targeted for fraud, but the love sick Jumbuh ignored
\nher.<\/p>\n
Wawan returned again on Sept. 27, asking Jumbuh to provide Rp
\n6.5 million for transportation money.<\/p>\n
She immediately went to her neighbors to borrow the amount
\nrequested by Wawan, and afterward took him shopping at the Jambu
\nDua plaza.<\/p>\n
Wawan asked for another Rp 10 million before leaving.<\/p>\n
Mrs. Rochmad became more suspicious and criticised Jumbuh, who
\nthen came to her senses.<\/p>\n
The landlady's next step was gathering residents together to
\ncapture Wawan on his next visit.<\/p>\n
Instead of going to the house, Wawan sent two other men, Pendi
\nand Viki, to collect the money. The two were soon beaten by the
\nresidents, who also destroyed their minivan before turning the
\ntwo over to local police.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/man-posing-as-westlife-member-takes-widow-for-a-ride-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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