Three men detained for slander

Three men detained for slander

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta Police detectives have detained
three men for questioning over their alleged role in spreading
fallacious stories about a female billionaire.

Col. Nono Suprijono, head of the local police station, said on
Sunday the three men had slandered 49-year-old Djuriah Dian
Maimun Al Rashid, who regularly donated money to local poor
people, by telling residents of Petukangan Selatan subdistrict in
Pesangrahan that she did so to bring more power for her "magic".

The three men -- Djayadih, 62, Madany, 48, and Mashur, 45 --
then allegedly told the recipients of donations, often orphans,
that with her new power, Djuriah hoped the people could help her
build a mosque and a house in Cinere without having to spend her
own money.

"Influenced by these groundless rumors, some 2,500 orphaned
children whom she routinely feeds refused to go to the school she
has built in the Kampung Sawah area, fearing that she is a witch
or something.

"Djuriah, who is in the real estate business, was angry and
stopped giving out donations this year," officer Nono said.

Later, senior residents of Petukangan Selatan realized that
the stories spread by Djayadih, a subdistrict chief in the area,
and his two accomplices were untrue, Nono explained.

"The residents have written Djuriah a letter stating she
needn't be angry with them, since the real culprits were Djayadih
and his friends," Nono said.

Based on a preliminary investigation, police detained the
three late last week and questioned them based on Article 310 of
the Criminal Code on spreading slander.

"If proven guilty in court, they could each get as much as two
years in prison," Nono said.

But the officer said police have yet to name them as suspects
in the case since local detectives are still finding out the real
motive.

Djayadih said on Sunday he believed the high fever suffered by
his son was caused by Djuriah after the boy passed in front of
her house.

He said his ailing boy was mumbling about trees and genies.

"His fever was very high... I suspected that something was
wrong," Djayadih recalled.

He, however, admitted regularly receiving donations of Rp
200,000 from Djuriah. (ylt)