Shaman in Depok paid IDR170 million to cure impotence and recover virginity, gets arrested for fraud

Illustration.
Illustration.

Police in the Beji district of Depok arrested a dukun (shaman) for fraud after she allegedly charged her clients millions of rupiah to cure their sexual conditions.

The dukun, identified as Ros (54 years old), allegedly convinced four people to pay her around IDR170 million (USD12,900) to — during separate treatments — cure their sexual impotence and recover their virginities.

“Her last fraud was when she tricked a local on September 4. At the time she claimed she could cure the impotence of the husband of the fraud victim,” said Beji Police Chief Bambang Handoko, as quoted by Kompas today.

According to the police, Ros, who is originally from the neighboring city of Bogor, came to prominence among locals in Beji after she supposedly used her powers to help track down a missing child. She then claimed that she could cure people’s sexual ailments by giving them water that she had cast a spell on.

“But after (people) tried, it turned out that the spell didn’t work. When they realized (they were tricked), the victims reported (Ros to the police) for fraud,” Handoko said.

Ros may be charged with fraud and could face up to four years in prison.

Shamans are still prevalent in Indonesia, even in urban areas. Among the most commonly hired “people with supernatural powers” are pawang hujan (rain shamans), who can supposedly control the weather and are often hired to make sure it doesn’t rain during important outdoor events.



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on