Beware of city's notorious intinerant criminal hypnotists
Beware of city's notorious intinerant criminal hypnotists
JAKARTA (JP): Several thousand people across the country have
recently reported to have been victims of chicanery, losing large
sums of money and much jewelry after being put into a trance by
the criminals.
According to experts, such nonviolent crime is believed to
have been committed by itinerant hypnotists.
In interviews with The Jakarta Post yesterday, a senior
hypnotist and two psychologists said that the hypnotized victims
became temporarily totally helpless and could only follow the
criminals' instructions.
Mamok, a senior hypnotist in the city, and psychologists
Suprapti Sumarmo Markam and AJ Hukom predicted that more people
could easily become victims of the hypnotism-powered criminals.
"As learning hypnotism is not that difficult, everybody,
including those who have no supernatural powers, can master it
easily," said Mamok, 53, who has practiced hypnotism since the
1970s.
Suprapti, from the University of Indonesia, added: "Preventing
such a situation occurring is not as easy as conscious people
might think."
Sharing Mamok's view, Hukom, a practicing psychologist, said
that the criminals "have abused the powers of hypnotism."
"Even I could have earned a lot of money if I had had the
intention of using hypnotism in the wrong way," Hukom said.
The experts said that it could take as little as a few seconds
to hypnotize someone, although it depended on the powers of the
hypnotizer and the susceptibility of the subject.
Based on a rough study carried out recently, it is believed
that thousands of people in the capital alone have been victims
of the groups. Hundreds of similar cases have also been reported
from other part of the country, including some remote villages.
Although the total losses have reached an estimated billions
of rupiah and hundreds of grams of jewelry, none of the criminals
have been arrested thus far.
According to Mamok, the key approaches to ensure one does not
fall under the spell of the mind-bending criminals, who are
unarmed but equipped with special techniques, are, firstly,
avoiding eye contact and, secondly, leaving them as soon as
possible.
"That's why blind people and undisciplined persons, who never
obey orders, cannot be the victims of the felonious hypnotists,"
said Mamok.
"Normally, they start the trick by asking their victims
something during which time the person would automatically look
into the criminal's eyes," he said.
"If you know or see that your friend or relative is under the
spell of anyone, just try to disturb your friend or the
criminal's concentration, by, for instance, asking your friend to
leave immediately," Mamok suggested.
He warned people not to respond to questions asked by
strangers on the streets.
"If you're caught under their control, you can do nothing but
obey their instructions," Mamok said.
In many cases, the hypnotized victims handed over all the
belongings they had on them and even took the criminals to
automatic teller machines, banks or bedrooms to give the crooks
all their savings. (bsr)