Tag: indonesia

  • Woman pretends to be dead to avoid paying back loan

    A woman in Indonesia faked her own death to avoid giving back a loan she owed.

    The alleged scam artist — known only as “L” — reportedly owed an undisclosed sum to her associate Maya Gunawan, with the cash initially due to be paid on Nov. 20.
    According to details, when the woman was unable to procure the money, she asked Gunawan to extend the payment date till Dec. 6.

    That day came and went — and Gunawan was shocked when she logged onto Facebook Dec. 12 to discover a post from L’s daughter announcing her mom had been killed in a car crash.

    According to the post, L had passed away following an incident on a bridge close to her home in Medan, North Sumatra. The post also said that she would be laid to rest 370 miles away in Banda Aceh.

    The daughter, who claimed her mother had hacked into her Facebook account to write the lie, reportedly acknowledged the post was false.
    According to the Daily Star, the picture of the gurney the daughter put up in the post was reportedly borrowed from a TV show, and the pictures of L in a shroud were taken to “make her lie more convincing.”

  • Indonesia bans sex outside marriage

    Indonesia’s parliament has approved a new criminal code that bans sex outside marriage—an act for which people can be jailed.

    Under the law, unmarried couples caught having sex can be jailed for up to a year. They are also banned from live-in relationships, with perpetrators facing jail time of up to six months. Adultery will also be an offense for which people can be jailed.

    The new code will apply to locals as well as foreigners with critics calling the law a “disaster” for human rights.

    However, the code will not come into effect for three years to allow for implementing regulations to be drafted. Currently, Indonesia bans adultery but not premarital sex.

    A 28-year-old Muslim woman said that she is now at risk for living with her partner for the past five years, reports BBC.

    According to international media, researcher Andreas Harsano, said there were millions of couples in Indonesia without marriage certificates, “especially among Indigenous peoples or Muslims in rural areas” who had married in specific religious ceremonies.

    It is pertinent to mention that these changes have come after a rise in religious conservatism in the Muslim-majority country.

    Several protests have also been carried out after the passing of this law. However, it’s expected that the new law will be challenged in court.

  • Indonesia bans all syrup, liquid medication after death of nearly 100 children

    Indonesia bans all syrup, liquid medication after death of nearly 100 children

    Indonesia has suspended sales of all syrup and liquid medication in the country after the death of nearly 100 children in the region.

    According to the media reports, a few syrup medicine was found to contain ingredients linked to Acute Kidney Injuries (AKI), which have killed a total of 99 young children this year.

    The country’s authorities have so far not disclosed the brands or types of syrup medicines suspected to have caused the illnesses. For now, the government has temporarily banned the sale and prescription of all syrup and liquid medicines.

    Indonesian health officials said they had reported around 200 cases of AKI in children, most of who were aged under five

    “Some syrups that were used by AKI child patients under five were proven to contain ethylene glycol and diethylene glycol that was not supposed to be there, or is supposed to be in very little amount,” said Indonesia’s Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

    Earlier this month, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert over four cough syrups, allegedly manufactured in India, that were linked to the deaths of almost 70 children in The Gambia.

  • 125 people die in football stadium stampede in Indonesia

    125 people die in football stadium stampede in Indonesia

    A football game in Indonesia turned deadly Saturday night as security personnel clashed with soccer fans, prompting a stampede and leaving 125 dead with dozens of others injured, officials and eyewitnesses said.

    Four people present at the game told The Washington Post that armed security officers in uniform discharged what seemed to be tear gas into the crowd randomly and directly, which caused panic. It was predicted that 42,000 people would attend the event.

    Frustrated supporters of the losing home team invaded the pitch in Malang in the province of East Java late on Saturday. To control the situation, police officers fired tear gas which triggered the stampede and led to suffocation.

    “I can still hear the voices of children calling for their mothers,” said Bima Andhika, 25, who escaped the stampede with his 14-year-old sister. His uncle and three of his neighbors are among the dead, he said.

    A police spokesperson said 323 people were injured, up from the initial count of 180.

  • India’s Harnaaz Sandhu becomes Miss Universe amidst controversies

    India’s Harnaaz Sandhu becomes Miss Universe amidst controversies

    Miss India, Harnaaz Sandhu was given the title of Miss Universe 2021 in the 70th edition of the annual pageant, held in Eilat, Israel on Monday. Several participants took part in the event despite the pressure to boycott in support of Palestinians. This is the first time the pageant was held in Israel. The event has faced several complications due to the covid pandemic as well.

    Nadia Ferreira from Paraguay took the first runner-up position and Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane filled the second-runner up spot.

    Ministry of Sports, Culture and Arts of South Africa had stressed upon its participant to stay away from Eilat due to “atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians.”

    South Africa also withdrew their support from its participant Miss South Africa Lalela Mswane but she took part in the event.

    The grandson of Nelson Mandela, Mandla Mandela also supported the call to boycott the annual pageant.

    Miss Universe 2017, Sarah Idan, who belong to Iraq tweeted, “All I can say is how dare you? How dare you as a man try to tell an organization for women, and women empowerment what to do.”

    The other groups for Palestinian advocacy also requested to avoid the event to voice out the atrocities of Israel against Palestine.

    The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel wrote: “We urge all participants to withdraw, to avoid complicity in Israel’s apartheid regime and its violation of Palestinian human rights.”

    Contestants from Muslim majority countries also participated in the pageant which includes Morocco and Bahrain who have normalized their diplomatic ties with Israel last year.

    Miss Universe 2020, Andrea Meza from Mexico also emphasised that the annual pageant should be away from politics and religion. She said that it is only for women and what they can contribute to society.

    Muslim majority, Malaysia and Indonesia nations which have no diplomatic ties with Israel, did not send their participants due to complications of the covid pandemic and not because of any political grounds.

    The United Arab Emirates, UAE which also normalised the ties with Israel last year has not sent its contestant due to time constraints in the selection of a national winner.

    Participants of the pageant have also faced criticism on cultural appropriation when candidates wore robes with traditional Palestinian embroidery while rolling grape leaves.

    Ines Abdel Razek of the advocacy group the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy. tweeted, “Colonialism, racism, cultural appropriation, patriarchy, whitewashing, all in one place.”

  • Video: Rain lashes on just one vehicle in Indonesia

    In a strange video, rain is seen lashing on just one car in Indonesia, reports ARY News.

    https://twitter.com/Random_Uncle_UK/status/1455151015712497671?s=20

    The viral event reportedly took place at a parking lot located in West Java on Monday.

    Uryan Riana who witnessed the rain pouring down said that he first thought of it as a prank.

    He said, “It just so happened that I was in the parking lot at that time. I immediately took my cellphone and took a video of the rain.”

    “At first, I thought someone was playing with water above the hotel. But when I looked up, the water was actually falling from the sky. It was raining.”

    Indonesia usually has monsoon season at this time of the year.

    It is not the first time that such a bizarre episode has taken place as in 2017, rain poured down on a single house located in South Jakarta in Indonesia.

  • Ex-girlfriend shows up at wedding, groom marries both fiancée, girlfriend

    Ex-girlfriend shows up at wedding, groom marries both fiancée, girlfriend

    A groom in Indonesia tied the knot with his fiancée and girlfriend at the same time after his former girlfriend arrived at the wedding.

    As per reports, the 20-year-old Kork Akbar was getting married to his fiancee last month when Kork’s girlfriend showed up at the wedding.

    Kork Akbar’s fiancee allowed Akbar to marry his girlfriend after which the boy married both at the same time.

    The couple told that Akbars’s girlfriend got the news of his marriage from social media.

  • Man with Covid-19 wears niqab to get on a flight, pretends to be his own wife

    Man with Covid-19 wears niqab to get on a flight, pretends to be his own wife

    An Indonesian man with Covid-19  boarded a flight from Jakarta to Ternate after wearing a niqab disguising as his own wife.

    As per reports, the man, who has been publicly identified only by the initials “DW,” boarded a Citilink domestic flight from Jakarta to Ternate wearing a burqa that covered him from head to toe.

    The man’s wife had tested negative for the virus so he attempted to use her ID and negative results to travel.

    A flight attendant reportedly told authorities that she saw “DW” go into bathroom of the plane, then came out wearing men’s clothes instead of the niqab.

    She reported it to the airport authorities in Ternate, who held the passenger  once he disembarked from the plane. 

    Read More: Indian couple gets married on plane to avoid Covid restrictions

    A health officer instantly tested him for Covid, and the PCR result came positive.  

    Ternate Covid task force operational head Muhammad Arif Gani said: ‘The airport immediately contacted the Ternate City Covid-19 Handling Task Force team to evacuate the man while wearing personal protective equipment, and then taking him in an ambulance to his house to self-isolate, where he will be supervised by Task Force officers.’

    Once he will be done with quarantine period, police said they intend to prosecute the man.

    Mr Gani said airport security will be updated with extra screening in response to the incident.

  • Man almost marries wrong woman after Google Maps misguides him

    Man almost marries wrong woman after Google Maps misguides him

    A man almost married the wrong woman after Google Maps mislead him to the wrong venue in Indonesia.

    According to details, two ceremonies, a wedding and an engagement were held in the same village on Sunday.

    Ulfa, 27, who was getting engaged was oblivious to the fact that the wrong man had entered her house when she was being attended to by the make-up artist. Chaos ensued when both parties realised that there was a mix-up.

    Speaking about the incident, Ulfa said: “I was shocked when I saw the man’s group as I did not know any of them.” She said that her fiancé and his relatives got late as they stopped on the way to find a toilet.

    She added that her fiancé is from Kendal and the man who arrived at her engagement ceremony was from Pemalang.

    “But my family welcomed them and they proceeded to exchange gifts,” Ulfa told Indonesian news portal Tribunnews.

    When a member from the man’s side realised that they had arrived at the wrong location, they apologised for their mistake before leaving the venue.

    Ulfa’s family helped the man and his family reach the right venue.

  • Authorities fix pothole after videos of a man ‘bathing’ in it went viral

    Authorities fix pothole after videos of a man ‘bathing’ in it went viral

    Authorities in the Indonesian regency of Central Lombok fixed a giant pothole after videos and pictures of a man “bathing” and “fishing” in it did the rounds on social media.

    According to details, the man, Amaq Ohan wanted to draw the attention of road authorities to the problem so he took a bath and did fishing in that pothole.

    One of the videos show Ohan taking  a bath in a pothole with his clothes on. He used a mug to pour water on himself and also washed his hair.

    Pictures that are circulating on the internet show Ohan sitting cross-legged on a plastic chair with an umbrella in his hand and fishing in the middle of the flooded pothole.

    The pothole was fixed by the relevant authorities after the videos and images went viral and made headlines.