Weddings, an essential rite of passage in Indonesia, remain a source of swindle and discontent.
Marriage scammers Nitria Danu Kusuma and Filipus Defris aka Dave Gel
He was supposed to be one of the happiest days of life Karina Prilianti (34). She was to marry his love Mochammad Bayu (36) March 6, a Sunday. They had planned a lavish ceremony and reception for 300 people at Balai Sarwono, a popular wedding in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta.
The happy couple arrived early for bridal makeup and wedding photos.
They began to feel uncomfortable when the photographer and makeup artist canceled the meeting, claiming that they had not been paid.
Then Balai Sarwono management informed them that he had canceled their wedding because the place had received a booking fee of Rp.5 million.
Karina was aghast. She had paid more than Rp.109 million to a wedding planner named Danu Nitria Kusuma (35), who was an old friend from high school. The money had been poured into multiple transfers to a bank account held by the Nitria wizard Filipus Defris (34), who also goes by the name Dave Freeze.
Desperate for an explanation payment sites, Karina phoned Nitria, but she had stopped taking his calls. The unhappy couple reported the cancellation to the family members, who have sent text messages to the guests, explaining the marriage had been postponed for two weeks.
That day, Karina reported Nitria in Pasar Minggu Police Bureau. The initial response of the police was dull, so later she made a report to the headquarters of the Jakarta police. Then she started chatting with friends online and discovered at least two other couples were also scammed by Nitira and Filipus.
The scammers ran a bogus company called Ghetar One Stop Event. They were also behind another wedding business scam called Zahred Management, which used the slogan, "All you need is love. We do the rest. "
On March 7, police arrested Filipus in South Jakarta, but could not find Nitria. Meanwhile, the victims had formed a . group called" Victims WO Crazy '( WO standing for marriage Organizer) and hatched a plan to capture the crook. a member of the group called a friend of Nitria and asked him to arrange a meeting with the wedding planner in a house in Tangerang neighboring province of Banten. Several members of the group then went to the house the afternoon of March 8 and Nitira maintained until the arrival of police later that night and detained.
Nitria and Filipus are accused of fraud and could face four years in prison. If all this sounds familiar, it's because Nitria has already been jailed for draw exactly the same scam. South Jakarta district court had in 2013 sentenced to a year behind bars for embezzling Rp.114 million of a couple fiance.
One of the latest victims of Nitria, a flight attendant called Vita, had to marry in April with a reception at Balai Sarwono. She wants her money, but the police said that fraudsters had spent almost all of their ill-gotten gain. When police raided the house of Nitria they seized a wedding planning package contracts and only Rp.1.475 million in cash.
Zaky Alkazar Nasution, head of the police Pasar Minggu, urged people who use the services of wedding planners to be more vigilant. "Do not be fooled by cheap prices. Check the legality of the wedding planner. Check with their former clients."
Couples wishing to save money could simply go with planners marriage and book themselves places. For example, a basic wedding party for 300 people costs about Rp.60 million in some places, but the price can go up to Rp.100 million if you hire a planner to make the reservation.
No Dowry
Have you ever feel that you are in a bad relationship? Or you married the wrong person? In the city of Bekasi West Java, a woman named Siti Mukaromah Heri Prasetyo married last year, and a day later reported him to the police for failing to pay for wedding expenses.
Siti Heri had met in August 2014 while waiting for a bus. He claimed to be a senior member of the fight against terrorism police squad, Detachment 88. The two began a relationship and eventually decided to marry.
After their marriage, Siti was outraged that his family had to pay the entire bill, while none of the family of Heri was presented. It was also suspected that she had never seen her husband dressed in a police uniform. After she went to the police, Heri was arrested for posing as a police commissioner.
Impersonating a police officer in order to seduce women is not a rare phenomenon in Indonesia. In the capital of South Sulawesi Makassar, the last month police arrested an unemployed man, Semto (33) for posing as a chief brigadier.
Semto had promised to marry Dewi (26) at the end of January, but instead kept asking him for money, claiming his police work would provide future funds. She gave him a motorcycle and Rp.12 million to pay for the wedding rings and marriage certificate. Police said Semto had already served nine months in prison for a similar scam.
Love Happy
In West Kalimantan, the President of the Regional Legislative Assembly Bengkayang, Martinus Kajot was reported last week to an ethics commission and of Indonesian Democratic Party of struggle (PDIP) leader Megawati Sukarnoputri, because he plans to marry for the 12th time.
Kajot came in hot water after posting a photo on . of himself with a physics teacher of 26 years, Putri Lasiando in a hotel room. Putri's parents did not approve of the relationship and said Kajot behavior was not appropriate for a public official.
The portly officer, who has ten children, said there was nothing inappropriate in the photo because he and Putri planning to get married in June. He said he had divorced all his previous wives. He said his 11th wife recently left him without explanation and moved to Malaysia.
A lawyer for Putri said Kajot parents had insulted the family by publishing intimate photos. He said Kajot responded by declaring Putri and her sister to the police for embezzling a Honda Jazz car from him. The lawyer said the car was a gift from Kajot.
As Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen once pessimist said, "There can be no freedom or beauty of a home life that depends on borrowing and debt" Couples. could avoid debt avoiding scammers, while single women should think twice before falling in love with gifts from government officials.