Held captive in cave for 15 years: Indonesian shaman, 83, alleged in deceiving women into intercourse for more than decade

"We found the victim in a gap between rocks," explained Tolitoli Police chief Muhammad Iqbal Alqudusy. 

Authorities say they have freed a 28-year-old woman, identified as HS, in a crevice behind several large rocks, forming a cave that measured around 3 by 5 feet, near Galumpang village, Tolitoli regency, Central Sulawesi. Police investigated the area when it was reported that an 83-year-old village shaman was hiding her.

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According to local media, the man, named Jago, was known in the community for using alternative healing methods and possesses abilities in channelling spirits. Police say that in 2003, the then 13-year-old girl HS was brought to Jago for treatment by her own family, and stayed living with the shaman.

Later in the same year, HS disappeared. It was reported that Jago told the girl's family that she had left for Jakarta to find work there. Relatives tried to find her for several years in vain, and she was eventually declared missing. 

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However, it is claimed that the girl was in fact kidnapped by Jago and forced to stay in the small prison-like cave to avoid detection, but at night she was brought up to the shaman's nearby house, where she was deceived and brainwashed into believing Jago was possessed by the spirit of "Jin Amrin" by showing her a picture of Amrin, and that Amrin was her boyfriend. The shaman is alleged to have sexually abused HS since 2003.

"The victim seems to have been brainwashed, making her afraid to run away and afraid to meet other people because she was being watched by a jin," a neighbouring resident named Sugeng informed the local newspaper.

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Since the girl was only 13 when she was captured, Jago faces charges of threatening, forcing or deceiving children to participate in fornication, which carries a 15-year prison sentence under Indonesia's child protection laws.

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A flood and a landslide hit Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, killing 14 people, officials said Saturday.

Torrential rain pounding the area since Thursday triggered a landslide in Luwu district in South Sulawesi province, said local rescue chief Mexianus Bekabel.

Floods up to 3 meters (10 feet) have affected 13 sub-districts as water and mud covered the area. More than 1,000 houses were affected, with 42 of them swept off their foundations.

A search and rescue team worked to evacuate residents using rubber boats and other vehicles. More than 100 residents have been moved to mosques or relatives' houses outside the affected area, National Disaster Management Agency spokesperson Abdul Muhari said Saturday.

Seasonal downpours cause frequent landslides and floods in Indonesia, a chain of 17,000 islands where millions of people live in mountainous areas or in fertile floodplains.

Torrential rains in April triggered landslides and killed 20 people in Tana Toraja district of South Sulawesi province.

In this Friday, May 3, 2024, photo released by the Wajo Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD Wajo), rescuers carry people affected by a flood in Wajo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A flood and a landslide hit Indonesia's Sulawesi island, killing a number of people, officials said Saturday. (BPBD Wajo via AP)

In this Friday, May 3, 2024, photo released by the Wajo Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD Wajo), rescuers carry a victim of a flood in Wajo, South Sulawesi, Indonesia. A flood and a landslide hit Indonesia's Sulawesi island, killing a number of people, officials said Saturday. (BPBD Wajo via AP)