Man posing as Westlife member takes widow for a ride

Theresa Sufa, The Jakarta Post, Bogor

A widow with two children, said to be under the influence of hypnosis, became the victim of a fraud allegedly perpetrated by a man claiming to belong to the Indonesian Air Force. He gave the woman the picture of a member of pop band Westlife, which he said was a photo of himself taken during his college days.

The man, Wawan, 45, is currently being hunted by the North Bogor Police after allegedly getting away with Rp 6.5 million cash and home appliances belonging to the victim, Jumbuh Warsiati, 26.

The two first met on the Sinar Jaya bus on Sept. 22 while en route to the town of Banjarnegara in Central Java. Two days later, Wawan visited Jumbuh at her house in Ciparigi village, Bogor, where he spent the night.

Before he left, he gave the victim the photograph of Mark, a Westlife band member, as something to remember him by, before allegedly taking Jumbuh's tape recorder.

"Because Jumbuh was under hypnosis, she believed what he said and even fell in love with him," said Mrs. Rohmad, the owner of Jumbuh's rented house.

On Sept. 26, Wawan returned and told Jumbuh he had proposed to her parents and paid Rp 15 million as a dowry. When he left, he allegedly took Jumbuh's other electronic appliances and a mattress.

Jumbuh's younger sister, Anti, tried to warn her sibling that she had been targeted for fraud, but the love sick Jumbuh ignored her.

Wawan returned again on Sept. 27, asking Jumbuh to provide Rp 6.5 million for transportation money.

She immediately went to her neighbors to borrow the amount requested by Wawan, and afterward took him shopping at the Jambu Dua plaza.

Wawan asked for another Rp 10 million before leaving.

Mrs. Rochmad became more suspicious and criticised Jumbuh, who then came to her senses.

The landlady's next step was gathering residents together to capture Wawan on his next visit.

Instead of going to the house, Wawan sent two other men, Pendi and Viki, to collect the money. The two were soon beaten by the residents, who also destroyed their minivan before turning the two over to local police.