Vulnerable Migrant Workers Become Victims

KOMPAS/ERIKA KURNIA

Two female migrant workers, Aslem (in green) and Hana, victims of money-making fraud by the Wowon gang, speak to journalists at Polda Metro Jaya, Jakarta, Thursday (26/1/2023) evening.

JAKARTA, KOMPAS – A female migrant worker named Hana revealed that she was a victim of fraud allegedly committed by Wowon Erawan and his gang, who are from Cianjur, West Java. Hana was almost killed by the perpetrators after returning from Saudi Arabia in late 2022.

This story was conveyed by head of the Polda Metro Jaya (Jakarta Metropolitan Police) crime and violence subdirectorate, Adj. Sr. Indriwienny Panjiyoga. Hana is a victim of a series of money scams allegedly committed by the suspects Wowon (60) and Solihin (63), also known as Duloh and M. Dede Solehudin (35). The suspects also allegedly committed murder and attempted murder.

“Hana, a TKW [female migrant worker] and a victim of Wowon’s gang’s fraud, said that shortly after returning from Saudi Arabia, she went to Dede’s house in Cianjur to enquire about the results of the multiplied money. However, there was no certainty at that time and Hana eventually returned home,” he said when contacted in Jakarta on Thursday (26/1/2023).

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After failing to meet the perpetrator, Hana was then contacted by Dede via text message. Dede asked Hana to go with him to Duloh’s house in Cianjur either on 28 or 29 December 2022. There, the perpetrators said they would share the results of the multiplied money, which they claimed was done using supernatural abilities.

On that day, however, Hana did not go to Cianjur due to heavy rain. Hana only went to Cianjur on 8 January 2023 but did not meet with Dede. Dede had not been home for a week.

The police confirmed this statement directly with the suspect Dede. The invitation extended to Hana, who was supposedly going to take the results of the multiplied money, was in fact aimed at taking the migrant worker’s life.

Before this case was unraveled by the police, Hana had been a victim of Wowon’s gang’s fraud for more than two years. She knew them through Yeni, who is Dede’s wife. Yeni is both a migrant worker and a victim as she kept on giving money to her husband, which was passed on to the other perpetrators.

“Hana has been a victim of this scam for two years and lost around Rp 75 million [US$5,074],” said Polda Metro Jaya public-relations head Sr. Comr. Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko.

KOMPAS

Not only was he involved in a murder case, Wowon was also suspected of defrauding migrant workers by multiplying money.

The police have identified 11 victims of fraud, including Hana and Yeni, by tracing the history of cash going into the gang’s savings account, which totals around Rp 1 billion. The other victims include Siti, Farida, Aslem, Entin, Hamidah, Evi, Yanti, Nene and Sulastini. Thus far, only Hana and Aslem have given direct statements to Polda Metro Jaya.

“After examining the two witnesses, it is clear that the majority of the victims were introduced to this method of fraud by Yeni and Siti [both of whom were also eventually killed by Wowon’s gang]. Meanwhile, Aslem had been a victim of this scam for the six years she worked, resulting in a loss of around Rp 288 million,” said Trunoyudo.

Female migrant workers who became victims to this scam were known to routinely send money every month to Wowon’s gang’s account. The money was set aside from the victims’ monthly salaries, which ranged from Rp 3-5 million.

Tricks behind the scam

The perpetrators tricked their victims into believing they could multiply money using certain tricks. The victims were asked to bring money and meet them, where they would showcase the trick of multiplying money in envelopes.

After that, the victims were asked to regularly deposit money and to collect the results at a later date. Moreover, the perpetrator also invited the victims to recruit other migrant workers.

Once the victims find out about their deception, the perpetrators will invite them to meet or ask the victim to carry out a ritual that ends in taking their lives, from choking them or giving them poison to drink to instructing the victim to cross the ocean and throw themselves in. Those who witnessed the perpetrators’ actions were also murdered.

The perpetrators tricked their victims into believing they could multiply money using certain tricks.

To date, there were nine victims who were killed by the three suspects. Most of them were Wowon’s immediate family, namely his wife and children. The victims who died were AM (40), RA (23) and MR (17) in Bekasi; Noneng, Wiwin, Bayu and Farida in Cianjur; Siti, whose body was found in the Bali Sea and buried in Garut, West Java; and Halimah in Karangtanjung village, Cililin district, West Bandung regency, West Java.

Among his actions, Wowon had also invited his neighbors to become migrant workers, with Mega Mulyati (20) being one of them.

Mega was offered a job in Saudi Arabia and part of her salary was to be paid to Wowon. By depositing Rp 30 million, Wowon promised he could multiply it for houses, cars and land.

Though it sounded promising, Mega was not tempted by the bait. (Z08)

This article was translated by Kesya Adhalia.