WO Owner Who Scammed Dozens of Brides-to-Be Is Repeat Offender in Similar Case

Police have uncovered that the owner of a wedding organiser (WO) in East Jakarta, identified as ER, who is suspected of defrauding dozens of brides-to-be, is a repeat offender in similar cases previously in West Java. ‘Our investigations revealed that suspect ER (the wife) is a repeat offender for similar criminal acts in West Java,’ said East Jakarta Metropolitan Police’s Reskrim Chief AKP Bayu Kurniawan at the police station on Monday. The repeat offender status was confirmed after detectives conducted thorough checks on both suspects, a married couple who run the Marwah WO. Police have charged two individuals, the husband and wife who managed and controlled the operations of Marwah WO. The suspects, RM (husband) and ER, were arrested after attempting to evade police following public attention on the case. ‘It is true that we arrested the two suspects in the Marwah Wedding Organiser fraud case on Friday, 29 May 2026, at a rental house in Cililin, West Bandung Regency, West Java Province,’ Bayu stated. He added that the suspects allegedly tried to flee and hide after the case gained traction on social media and in news outlets. ‘Following the social media and news coverage yesterday, the suspects attempted to escape and hide. We conducted searches and, praise be to God, identified their location and arrested them in Cililin,’ Bayu said. Earlier, there were reports the suspects planned to flee abroad, but police said they found no evidence of this. Preliminary records show at least 58 Marwah WO clients are suspected victims, with total losses estimated at Rp2.6 billion. ‘We are continuing our investigation and not ruling out additional victims,’ Bayu added. Victims had paid for various wedding packages promised by Marwah WO, but the services were not delivered as promised, causing significant losses for the couples.