Bogus journalist cheats legislator

SEMARANG: House of Representatives legislator Alvin Lie from the National Mandate Party (PAN) ducked an attempt at fraud by a bogus journalist when he appeared on Thursday at a local court to be tried for early campaigning.

Alvin told reporters the extortion attempt took place just as he was leaving the courtroom.

"I spotted this young man who did not interview me, but he approached my wife and asked her for my name card. He said he wanted to interview me, but after a lengthy talk, the conversation went nowhere and I assumed that he just wanted money," Alvin told Antara.

When Alvin asked the bogus reporter for his identification, he presented a press card and personal ID with a name, Widada.

"But when I checked for the media Posisie Demokrasi Indonesia, I found out it was fake and that his ID card had expired. I chased him into the parking lot but he hopped on his motorbike and fled," he said.

He had phoned the number on the press card, only to discover that the line was disconnected. -- Antara