Want to be a spy? Tattoo your face first
Job-seekers conned by 'mystic' into inking face with dragon print
October 19, 2008
IT WAS a job that called for stealth and the willingness to go on secret missions, yet the disguise required was anything but.
MARKED: One of the two Indonesians who was tricked into getting his face tattooed. -- PICTURE: AFP
Two Indonesian job-seekers were duped into getting their whole face tattooed after they were told it was a requirement to become intelligence officers.
Nanang, 30, and Bambang, 40, underwent the process, which saw them being inked with dragon-print tattoos over their faces.
Now, both men think the man who claimed to be a government official in charge of the recruitment was actually a 'mystic'.
The victims also believe he put them into a trance in order to convince them to have the tattoos.
Said Bambang: 'I was half conscious when the shop owner tattooed my face, and didn't think it was a con job.
'I just realised it was a con job on Friday night. I was shocked and I cried.'
The person who feels most guilty is their village chief, Mr Sawiyono.
He was helping the men find jobs in Jakarta and claimed he received a text message from a government official offering them work as intelligence officers.
The man told the chief that the two would have to be inked first with a dragon tattoo.
But he realised he had been tricked after he checked with the sub-district chief of Bojonegoro in East Java who told him there was no such requirement.
Mr Sawiyono has promised to help the victims have their tattoos removed.
He also thinks the official that recommended the jobs could be a mystic, saying: 'I don't know why I believe that person, I feel half conscious when I follow the man's instructions.'
'I am fully responsible for the mistake.'
Indonesian police said it was the third such hoax to have been reported in recent months.
Meantime, the two are left with a permanent ink - for which they are seeking treatment in a hospital - but with no permanent jobs.
Job-seekers conned by 'mystic' into inking face with dragon print
October 19, 2008
IT WAS a job that called for stealth and the willingness to go on secret missions, yet the disguise required was anything but.
MARKED: One of the two Indonesians who was tricked into getting his face tattooed. -- PICTURE: AFP
Two Indonesian job-seekers were duped into getting their whole face tattooed after they were told it was a requirement to become intelligence officers.
Nanang, 30, and Bambang, 40, underwent the process, which saw them being inked with dragon-print tattoos over their faces.
Now, both men think the man who claimed to be a government official in charge of the recruitment was actually a 'mystic'.
The victims also believe he put them into a trance in order to convince them to have the tattoos.
Said Bambang: 'I was half conscious when the shop owner tattooed my face, and didn't think it was a con job.
'I just realised it was a con job on Friday night. I was shocked and I cried.'
The person who feels most guilty is their village chief, Mr Sawiyono.
He was helping the men find jobs in Jakarta and claimed he received a text message from a government official offering them work as intelligence officers.
The man told the chief that the two would have to be inked first with a dragon tattoo.
But he realised he had been tricked after he checked with the sub-district chief of Bojonegoro in East Java who told him there was no such requirement.
Mr Sawiyono has promised to help the victims have their tattoos removed.
He also thinks the official that recommended the jobs could be a mystic, saying: 'I don't know why I believe that person, I feel half conscious when I follow the man's instructions.'
'I am fully responsible for the mistake.'
Indonesian police said it was the third such hoax to have been reported in recent months.
Meantime, the two are left with a permanent ink - for which they are seeking treatment in a hospital - but with no permanent jobs.
