A newlywed couple in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) has attracted nationwide attention this week after the groom sued his partner, alleging that she deceived him by withholding the truth about her biological sex before their marriage. In spite of the pretty serious accusation, the partner in question says that her groom was well-aware that she is biologically male.
The couple tied the knot on June 2 in a religious wedding ceremony, according to Ketut Sandiarsa, spokesman of West Lombok Police. Local media outlets have identified the groom as Muh (31) and the bride by her initials MIT (25).
The two reportedly met via social media and their relationship soon blossomed into love. Muh claimed that MIT rejected his requests to be intimate on their wedding night, and MIT later expressed a desire to get divorced before eventually running away. This prompted Muh to dig for more information about his new wife, which allegedly led him to learn from MIT’s neighborhood chief that her biological sex is male.
Muh decided to file for divorce before filing a police report against MIT on June 5 for fraud and defamation.
“After what happened the victim was shocked and felt like he was cheated, that the good name of his family and [his] village was tarnished,” Dhafid Shiddiq, who heads the criminal investigation unit at West Lombok Police, said.
An investigation into the case is ongoing, and police are reportedly questioning other witnesses. Dhafid added that MIT has said that her husband was well-aware that she is biologically male before their union.
“He [Muh] proposed marriage to me, he asked me to come to his house [and] when we were there he forced us to be intimate. After that, he knew I was a male,” MIT said yesterday.
“He touched me all over, and he also knew that my sex was just like him, but he still carried on with it,” MIT continued, adding that Muh had taken care of all the administrative aspects of their marriage.
Police have yet to announce formal charges at the time of publication, though they have accused MIT of fraud under Article 378 of the Indonesian Criminal Code (KUHP), which carries a maximum sentence of four years’ imprisonment.
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