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First Travel scam victims keep fighting for justice
Victims of a scam surrounding a pilgrimage package have pledged to continue their fight for compensation after suffering another defeat when the Depok District Court rejected their civil lawsuit.
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Would-be pilgrims flock the First Travel office on Jl. TB Simatupang, South Jakarta, on July 24, 2017, demanding back the money they had paid to the travel agency for an 'umrah' package. On Monday, the Depok District Court rejected their civil lawsuit. (kompas.com/Alsadad Rudi)
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ictims of a scam surrounding a pilgrimage package pledged to continue their fight for compensation after suffering another defeat when the Depok District Court rejected their civil lawsuit recently on the grounds that “the demands were unclear”.
“We have suffered for more than two years. We have lost everything. Many of my friends, who were agents, have died from stroke, some were too overwhelmed with the case,” one of the victims, Dewi Gustiana, 54, told The Jakarta Post.
“Alhamdulillah [thank God] we still have the strength and vitality to persevere. It is a disaster, but what can we do? We can’t stop trying [to pursue justice].”
Another victim of the scam, Siti Robiatul Adawiyah, 45, told the Post she would continue fighting.
“We have been fighting since 2017 when we filed the criminal case up until when we went to meet the religious affairs minister [Fachrul Razi] in House of Representatives Commission VIII on Nov. 28,” she said.
“Alhamdulillah, it was a blessing for us when the minister said he would not shirk his responsibility.”
The panel of judges at the Depok District Court in West Java rejected the civil lawsuit against PT First Anugerah Karya Wisata (First Travel) on Monday on the grounds that the lawsuit did not state clearly whether the plaintiffs were representing agents or pilgrims.
