Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsCan't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsSelf-proclaimed cleric Guntur Bumi was questioned by the Jakarta Police on Tuesday over allegations of fraud following his arrest on Monday morning
elf-proclaimed cleric Guntur Bumi was questioned by the Jakarta Police on Tuesday over allegations of fraud following his arrest on Monday morning.
Jakarta Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said 32-year-old Guntur had complained of stomach pain after being arrested and asked the police to delay his questioning.
Rikwanto added that the police had resumed questioning Guntur on Tuesday afternoon.
Guntur had run a clinic claiming to cure illnesses through prayer. He called himself an ustadz, an honorific for a Muslim cleric.
Ex-patients have said he sometimes charged millions of rupiah and employed dubious practices, such as bringing a patient into a dark room and revealing a needle or roaches that he would say he had removed from the patient's body.
According to Rikwanto, two of Guntur's former patients, named Abdul Aziz and Irfani, filed a report against Guntur charging that they had not been cured of their illnesses after visiting the clinic. Aziz and Irfani had paid Guntur Rp 76 million (US$6,597) and Rp 15 million, respectively, for their treatments.
Another former patient, identified as R, claimed that she had been sexually harassed by Guntur while in the clinic seeking treatment for her leg pain.
'Currently, Guntur is only a suspect for fraud. We are still looking for evidence to charge him for sexual harassment,' said Rikwanto. He added that R had already been questioned by the police.
Before founding the clinic, Guntur, whose real name is Muhammad Susilo Wibowo, became famous to the Indonesian public for starring in a 2004 reality television show titled Pemburu Hantu, or Ghost Hunters, in which he and several other clerics would visit houses that were said to be haunted and presumably hunt the supernatural beings there.
While starring in the show, Guntur conducted mass treatments in several remote areas nationwide. He then opened a clinic in his hometown of Semarang, Central Java.
The television show was canceled and in 2011 Guntur married former child star Puput Melati and opened several branches of his clinic in Jakarta, Bali and Bandung, West Java.
From the money he collected from his patients at the clinics, Guntur reportedly adopted a lavish lifestyle. He owns a large house in a posh neighborhood in Bintaro, South Jakarta, and owns several Harley Davidson motorcycles.
Earlier this year in March, several of his former patients came forward and filed a police report against him, claiming to have been cheated and manipulated by Guntur.
However, Rikwanto admitted that the Jakarta Police had a difficult time investigating the case because some of the incidents dated back to 2011 and 2012.
Two months after the first report against Guntur was filed, he was arrested on Monday after a new report of fraud was filed by two of his former patients.
Rikwanto said Guntur would remain in police custody for a minimum 20 days while the Jakarta Police investigated the case and questioned victims and witnesses.
'However, if we have not finished investigations by then, his arrest will be extended until further notice,' said Rikwanto.
Earlier last Friday, Puput was also named in a report filed with the police by one of her husband's former patients as an accomplice to his alleged crimes.
Rikwanto said Puput was still just a witness in the case. (dwa)
Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.
Quickly share this news with your network—keep everyone informed with just a single click!
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Get the best experience—faster access, exclusive features, and a seamless way to stay updated.