Police Investigate Alleged Kidnapping By Kelantan Prince
Wednesday, 22 April, 2009 | 14:32 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta:The Indonesian Police will investigate the case of an alleged kidnapping of an Indonesian national named Manohara Odelia Pinot by the royal family of Kelantan, Malaysia. The National Police’s Public Relations chief, Insp. Gen. Abubakar Nataprawira, said the police are still waiting for further reports from the victim’s family. “They have reported the case,” he said yesterday.

Manohara was reportedly kidnapped by her own husband, Kelantan Prince, Tengku Muhammad Fakhry. According to the victim’s mother, Daisy Fajarina, the kidnapping took place early March, when she and her daughter were invited to go on a pilgrimage by the sultan of Kelantan.

Daisy said the pilgrimage was meant to persuade Manohara to return to Kelantan. At that time, the 17 year-old model was running away from the royal family, saying she could not bear her husband’s violent behavior.

In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Manohara was taken in the same car as her husband, while her mother in another. Manohara was then forced to get inside a private jet, leaving her mother behind.

In an e-mail secretly sent by Manohara herself, she recounted how she was sexually abuse by her husband. “I had to obey him for my own safety,” she said.

The Indonesian Deputy Chief of Mission in Kuala Lumpur, Tatang B. Razak, said his office had received the complaint from the victim’s family through their lawyer, O.C. Kaligis.

“At first, we made an informal approach to the family of the sultan of Kelantan,” he said.

However, the effort turned to disappointment when the royal family refused to meet with the Indonesian Embassy official, claiming they were busy. “They treated the case as unimportant,” Tatang said.

Tatang said the Kelantan Sultanate has been claiming that Manohara was safe and sound. She is now staying at one of the palaces in the state bordering with Thailand.

The embassy has also sent an official letter to the Malaysian Foreign Affairs Department regarding the case. “We are waiting for their response,” Tatang said.


AQIDA SWAMURTI / SHAFWAN HAMID