“We Are Victims”
So Nazril Irham aka Ariel and current girlfriend Luna Maya did a “no show” at the National Police headquarters, calling in sick, but managed to get on national TV instead to repeat their claim to be victims of the now infamous Peterporn sex scandal video tapes. Problem is that neither of them confirmed nor denied their involvment in the sex videos showing them naked in bed engaging in sex. This has left many wondering what being victims really mean to Ariel and Luna Maya. Are they victims because whoever uploaded the pornographic videos into cyberspace did it without their permission? Or are they victims in the sense that some look-alike imposters were actually doing the sex actions?
Police Summons
The National Police issued summons for Ariel, Luna Maya and Cut Tari to appear as witnesses at its headquarters to assist in the ongoing investigation of the sex videos circulating in cyberspace. They were supposed to be present last Monday. Cut Tari, ex-girlfriend of Ariel, appeared at the National Police headquarters as scheduled with husband Yusuf Subrata but both Ariel and Luna Maya did a “no show”, calling in sick. National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Zainuri Lubis said: “Only Cut Tari met the summons.” Then referring to Ariel and Luna Maya, he said: “They could not meet the summons today as they claimed that they were sick.” Brig. Gen. Zainuri Lubis added: “We will send a second summons letter in the near future.”
So what did husband Yusuf Subrata has to say after the police interview? Yusuf Subrata said: “Let us pray that the allegations are proved untrue.” Does this mean Yusuf Subrata is unsure about his wife, Cut Tari, being the woman in the sex video? Not really. Yusuf Subrata stated categorically that he did not believe his wife is the woman in the controversial third video.
So how did the interview between Cut Tari and the National Police go? After 8 hours of interviewing Cut Tari, National Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Marwoto said: “She did not admit it.” Then he added: “We are still in the early stages of our investigation. We haven’t found strong evidence yet aside from the videos.” In other words, police have not found enough evidence to charge Cut Tari.
“Sick” Ariel And Luna Maya Gave An Interview On National TV
On Monday morning, Ariel and Luna Maya went for an interview, but not to the National Police headquarters. Instead Ariel and Luna Maya went to TV One to be interviewed on Monday morning. The program went on air on Monday evening.
During the interview, Ariel, the vocalist from the pop band Peterpan (now renamed in cyberspace as Peterporn), went on to say: “The news is too much, blown out of proportion. People make out as if this was big news but it’s not.” Interestingly, Ariel used the word “news” instead of “allegation”. Were they surprised? Ariel and Luna Maya said they were both “shocked” when they first heard about the sex videos in cyberspace. Luna Maya said: “Our reputations are ruined. We feel cornered.”
Luna Maya added: “Whoever spread the video must be arrested. We are the victims here.” But what is meant by “victims”? Since Luna Maya used the word “victims” in connection with the spreading of the video, it could mean that Ariel and Luna Maya were victims in the sense that these videos were circulated without their permission.
Ariel then said: “The motives could be many. I have not made any new albums in the past two years and the band is due to launch a new album next month, so this must be character assassination.” Is this a denial of their involvement in the sex video? Does “character assassination” refer to the action of the look-alike imposters? Or does it refer to the sabotage of the upcoming launch of a new album through the timing of the release of the sex videos?
So at the end of the TV interview, viewers are still no wiser – did Ariel and Luna Maya do it, or did they not? But Jakarta Police Spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar said: “We will investigate whether the video was leaked by other people or the people in the video themselves.”
Police Appointed Expert Consultants To Help
Roy Suryo, information technology commentator and Democrat Party legislator said he is appointed consultant to the National Police to investigate videography and cinematograply. Roy Suryo will analyze the sex tapes in which Ariel, Luna Maya and Cut Tari appeared.
According to Roy Suryo, another expert has also been appointed by the National Police. Roy Suryo said: “Investigation on Internet Protocol addresses and such will be handled by another expert, M Salahudin.”
Throwing some light on how the sex videos get onto cyberspace, Roy Suryo said: “The device used to spread the videos were not by computer but by mobile device.” When asked which cellular provider was used by the alleged perpetrator, Roy Suryo said: “I can’t speak about the operators. Let other experts explain that.”
But how will Roy Suryo go about his job to ascertain if the people appearing in the sex videos are indeed Ariel, Luna Maya and Cut Tari? The answer? Conduct a physical examination of the celebrities, Ariel, Luna Maya and Cut Tari. Why physical examination? Roy Suryo explained: “We will be able to see details, for example, the shapes of their ears, their noses, how the people in the videos look from all angles.” Referring to the tattoo on the left hip of the woman resembling Luna Maya in the sex video, Roy Suryo said: “The tattoo could be important. It could be a temporary tattoo, but I can’t talk about it because I’m not an expert on tattoos.”
Commercial Consequences
If there is one lesson to be learnt from the Tiger Wood sex scandal, it is that commercial sponsors do not like celebrities who are tainted to appear on their advertisements. Now, PT Unilever Indonesia has pulled the plug on Luna Maya in their Lux soap advertisements. Maria Dwianto, spokeswoman for PT Unilever said: ”We had an immediate meeting with Luna’s party last Friday and we decided not to work with Luna anymore. This decision was based on agreement between the two parties. This issue has put us in a tough situation and we are disappointed that we had to end the cooperation like this.”
On Monday, the municipal government of Bandung said that it had banned Ariel, Luna Maya and Cut Tari from performing in the city.
Think About It
This case has some parallel with a 2008 case involving Hong Kong actor Edison Chen. It seems that Edison Chen sent his notebook computer to the dealer for servicing, having first erased all pornographic materials from his harddisk. But the technician(s) servicing his computer managed to undelete these files, and uploaded them to cyberspace. Overnight, pornographic photographs and videos of Edison Chen with other celebrities like Gillan Chung, Bobo Chan and Cecilia Cheung appeared in the internet and attracted intense and high profile media attention round the world. Ariel is said to have lost his notebook computer. Is Ariel the successor to Edison Chen? If so, will Ariel follow Edison Chen in leaving the entertainment industry? Afterall, this is what Habib Salim, the head of the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) said recently: “They should stop their activities as entertainers as they are bad examples and have a bad influence on people. I urge Muslims to stop admiring them.”
Previous posts
Sex Video – Police Says It’s Really Ariel, Luna Maya And Cut Tari And Not Look-Alikes
Ariel – Did He Do It With Luna Maya, Cut Tari And Others?
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