Rahmat, aka Icha, gets eight months for forging ID to wed

West Java’s Bekasi District Court sentenced on Monday Rahmat Sulistyo to eight months in jail for forging identity documents that stated he was a woman named Friska Anastasya Oktaviani, aka Icha, and then marrying a man named Muhammad Umar last year.

The court said the forgery and consequent marriage had tainted the image of the Bekasi religious affairs office.

“However, we took into account that the defendant has promised to become a real man. He also acted politely during the trial, and Umar’s family has forgiven him,” said judge Matauseja Erna as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Matauseja expected the ruling to deter Rahmat from repeating the mistake.

“I think the punishment is appropriate and meets our sense of justice,” said the judge.    

The sentence was lower than the prosecutors’ demand of one year imprisonment. Prosecutors said they were not satisfied with the verdict and would file an appeal with the West Java High Court.

Rachmat was also disappointed with the verdict, saying he only expected to be sentenced to three months in jail so that he could celebrate the Idul Fitri holiday with his family.

The case began when Rahmat met Umar on Facebook, where the defendant identified himself as a woman named Icha. Rahmat then doctored his birth certificate to lend credence to his claim.

His original birth certificate identified him as Rahmat Sulistyo, a male born on Feb. 21, 1989. In the doctored certificate, the name was changed to Friska Anastasya Oktaviani, or Icha, female, born in 1981. Icha and Umar tied the knot in September 2010.

The marriage began to crumble after six months when Umar became suspicious of his spouse, who always rejected physical contact or preferred to have sexual intercourse in the dark.

Neighbors were also suspicious after observing Icha’s manly physique and hearing his baritone voice. They eventually confronted Icha, who then confessed to being a man named Rahmat.

Rahmat was then detained on March 31 after Umar filed a police report against him.

“Rahmat has served several months in jail, so he will be released from jail soon,” said Rahmat’s lawyer, Naupal Alrasyid.