Fraudsters claiming to increase wealth have existed for a long time. The desire to gain property in an instant way, and belief in the occult, mean similar cases to continue to repeat.
Slamet Tohari (center) is taken by a member of the Banjarnegara Police to a cassava plantation where the 12 victims he killed were buried in a case of doubling money in Balun Village, Wanayasa, Banjarnegara, Central Java, Tuesday (4/4/2023).
The murder committed by Slamet Tohari (45) in Banjarnegara regency, Central Java, surprised many people. A total of 12 victims were killed and buried in plantation land in Balun village, Wanayasa district, Banjarnegara. The victim's bodies were found on Monday (3/4/2023).
The murders committed by Slamet began with the victims coming to him looking to double their wealth. The victims knew Slamet as a shaman who could double their money. The victims were killed after repeatedly asking for the results of the service.
The money multiplication fraud, including those that led to murder, has occurred for a long time. Kompas in February 1986 reported a trial of a case of duplicating assets. Sumar Suryadilaga and Eddy Saputra, two farmers from Brebes, Central Java, received Rp 50 million (US$3,356) from six of their victims. The two of them claimed to be able to double the wealth with the help of gundul (bald) genies (Kompas, 5/2/1986).
In mid-2007, eight bodies of victims of a money-doubling shaman were found in Cikareo village, Cileles district, Lebak regency, Banten.
Six suspects were arrested in the planned murder case (Kompas, 25/7/2007).
The chief of Lebak Police at the time, Adj. Sr. Comr. Dwi Gunawan, believed the suspects had designed the murder under the pretext of carrying out the last ritual of taking the magical money.
"In the last ritual, the victims were asked to stand around a hole and were given a poisonous drink. After collapsing, they were buried together in the hole," said Gunawan.
In the last ritual, the victims were asked to stand around a hole and were given a poisonous drink.
The murder to eliminate traces of the money-multiplying fraud occurred in April 2012. Asep (42), the perpetrator of the murder of one family, was arrested (Kompas, 5/5/2012).
A similar case occurred in Ngemplak village, Windusari district, Magelang, Central Java, in July 2013. The case was revealed after three bodies were discovered on the slopes of Mount Sumbing in Magelang. They were victims of money fraud killed by suspect Munjaroh (Kompas, 29/7/2013).
This discovery began with a report about a victim named Yulanda who had left and not returned home since 7 July 2013. Yulanda's last contact was with Munjaroh. Initially, Yulanda had been promised that with Rp 30 million, he could receive Rp 60 million. Because he was tempted by the promise of money he deposited more money so he could bring home Rp 300 million. However, Yulanda was killed by the perpetrator.
KOMPAS/WILIBRORDUS MEGANDIKA WICAKSONO
A number of volunteers continued their search for the victims of Slamet Tohari's murder in a cassava plantation in Balun Village, Wanayasa, Banjarnegara, Central Java, Tuesday (4/4/2023).
In 2016, the public was shocked by the murder of Abdul Gani and Ismail. Both were followers of Dimas Kanjeng's padepokan (hermitage) in Probolinggo, East Java. They were killed because Taat Pribadi (46), the leader of the padepokan, was worried that the two followers would dismantle his fraud practice (Kompas, 23/9/2016).
In the same year, another murder was carried out, with the victims Shendy Eko (26) and Ahmad Sanusi (20) who had looked to double gold bars. Shendy and Sanusi, whose bodies were found in Limo, Depok, West Java, were allegedly killed with potassium cyanide poison. The killer in the case was the leader of Padepokan Satrio Bayu Aji, AH (35), and his assistant, R (25) (Kompas, 5/10/2016).
In 2021, the murder of money-multiplying fraud victims occurred again in Magelang regency. The victims at that time were Lasman (31), Wasdiyanto (38) and Suroto (63). The three were killed with poison by IS (57) who claimed to be a money-doubling shaman (Kompas, 19/11/2021).
Early in 2023, the public was again shocked by the murder of nine people in order to cover the practice of shaman fraud. The perpetrators of the murder were Wowon Eriawan, alias Aki (60), Solihin, alias Duloh (63), and Dede (35).
Shamanism
Sociologist Derajad Susilo Widhyarto from Gadjah Mada University in Yogyakarta said fraud with the mode of doubling the money continued because some Indonesians still believed in shamanism. This caused some to believe that there were certain people who had the power to double money without working.
"Our society is one which believes in shamanism. They see [the money multiplication] as a fact. So, it happens repeatedly. When there are people who claim to be able to double the money, there must be consumers," said Derajad when contacted on Tuesday (4/4/2023).
Our society is one which believes in shamanism.
In addition to belief in shamanism, greed is another factor that encourages people to believe in the money doubling shamans. This greed encourages some to want to become rich without working hard so that they eventually become victims of fraud.
To prevent similar cases from recurring, according to Derajad, the community must prioritize rationality in taking action. By thinking rationally, people should realize that money cannot be duplicated with shamanism. (Z07)
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