It's a plot to bring me down, says S'porean accused of sex abuse
Indonesian child star Tegar Septian made headlines last month with allegations that his Singaporean ex-manager had cheated him of money and made away with his passport, laptop, guitar and camera.
Mr Arif Dollah, 30, was also accused of preventing contact between the 13-year-old singer and his parents in Subang, Indonesia, and his Indonesian record label while they were in Malaysia for two months for shows.
The drama took a twist on Wednesday when it was alleged in a press conference that Tegar was sexually abused by Mr Arif between last November and January while they were in Malaysia.
Tegar, a street singer who rose to fame after a video of him singing an original song went viral on YouTube, told Indonesian media he was made to sleep in just his underwear and Arif would do the same when they shared a bed in Malaysia.
"He likes to be close (to me)... If I shower, he would accompany me," he said.
He also alleged that Mr Arif had asked him to kiss him.
In a further twist, local singer Sufie Rashid, 24, has also accused Mr Arif of sexually abusing him more than 10 years ago.
Sufie said he decided to come forward after all these years to help Tegar.
When contacted by The New Paper, Mr Arif strongly denied all the allegations made against him.
Indonesian media reported on Thursday that Tegar's stepfather and record label Harpa Records had sought assistance from the country's National Commission for Child Protection.
The commission's chairman, Mr Arist Merdeka Sirait, who was also at the conference, alleged that Mr Arif had sexually abused Tegar.
He also mentioned the theft of Tegar's belongings, and that a police report on the alleged theft and abuse would be made.
On Thursday, The Straits Times Online reported Mr Arist as saying: "We have filed a report to police on Thursday. Police will soon arrange a medical check on the victim and use the medical report as preliminary evidence to press charges against Arif Dollah.
"He is facing a maximum of 15 years and a minimum of five years in jail if found guilty."
Tegar's stepfather, Mr Yusuf, who was also present at the press conference, said he was "upset" when he found out about the allegations and immediately told Harpa Records about them.
"If I shower, he would accompany me."
- Tegar, who also alleged that Mr Arif had asked him to kiss him
Ex-manager: Someone must have forced him to say these things
Tegar Septian's former manager, Mr Arif Dollah, has denied all the allegations made against him.
"I didn't do any of it. A friend of mine who is close to Tegar and whom Tegar treats like a brother said that someone must have forced him to (make the allegations)," he said in a phone interview yesterday.
Mr Arif, who said he was hired by Tegar's parents in February last year, told The New Paper: "Someone is unhappy with me because I know something that can expose them. I won't say what it is."
He stopped managing Tegar on Jan 30 after returning to Indonesia from Malaysia.
He said that he pitied Tegar, who he claimed is "caught in the middle" and "afraid to apologise" to him for making the allegations.
In response to the allegations of sex abuse, he said: "I don't know how the story came about. In truth, Tegar sleeps wearing shorts and a sarong that he uses as a blanket. Also, he is 13 and able.
"There was also another person there (in the bed). If we had both been in just our underwear, wouldn't the third person say something?"
SLEPT TOGETHER
Mr Arif said that he, Tegar and an agent in Malaysia had stayed in a condominium at Jalan Dutamas in Kuala Lumpur.
They had all slept together on a king-size bed.
He admitted that he accompanied Tegar to shower as the boy is a "scaredy cat" but that he would stand outside with the door closed but unlocked.
"Even when he needs to relieve himself, I will wait outside and talk to him because he is scared of being left alone," he said.
He strongly denied the allegations that he had sexually abused Tegar.
He said: "It's simple - all this is a plot to bring me down. The stories are made up."
Mr Arif also denied taking Tegar's belongings, which included a guitar worth RM9,980 (S$3,760) and his passport.
"When the passport was missing, why go to the media and not the police? I did not take it, I merely left it in the apartment (in Jakarta, which was arranged for by record label Harpa Records) and all they had to do was to find it," he said.
"Truthfully, the guitar is expensive and something Tegar and I bought together. I value that guitar and passed it to a friend to look after."
He claimed that Tegar had once told him that his parents would sell his things for money.
As for the laptop and camera, Mr Arif said he left them in the same apartment in Jakarta upon their return from Malaysia.
He also said that he had never stopped Tegar, who has his own mobile phone, from contacting his parents.
"He would communicate with his mother via audio notes on WhatsApp," he said.
Mr Arif reiterated that he is not guilty of any wrongdoing and has engaged the services of a lawyer to help him.
"I have proof of my innocence," he said.
"There was also another person there (in the bed). If we had both been in just our underwear, wouldn't the third person say something?"
- Tegar's former manager, Mr Arif Dollah, in response to the allegations of sex abuse
He abused me too, claims local singer
- PHOTO: ANWAR RANDII PHOTOGRAPHY
Local singer Sufie Rashid, 24, has accused Mr Arif Dollah of sexually abusing him years ago when he was just 13.
He claimed the abuse lasted for about a year.
Sufie said Mr Arif was in a relationship with his mother, now 49, at the time.
The alleged abuse would happen in hotel rooms, his home or Mr Arif's home at night when his mother was asleep, he claimed.
After reports that Tegar had been cheated by Mr Arif, Sufie decided to make a police report about the alleged abuse last month.
He said he called Tegar who told him everything, including the sexual abuse allegations.
SILENT NO MORE
Sufie said he had maintained his silence all these years because he thought Mr Arif was a changed man.
"I also did not have the support that Tegar had. Even then, my own mum did not believe me," he told The New Paper in a telephone interview yesterday.
As a result of the alleged abuse, Sufie said his studies suffered and he was forced to live with the "trauma and embarrassment".
As he was a young boy then, Sufie said he thought it was Mr Arif's way of being "manja" (Malay for affectionate) with him.
He said he learnt to fight Mr Arif's advances by pushing him away and punching him but this only made his mother turn her back on him.
As a result, their relationship soured.
Sufie said he decided to come forward with one purpose - to help Tegar.
"Why should I still keep quiet when the news has surfaced that he has abused Tegar as well?" he said.
When asked about Sufie's allegations, Mr Arif denied them.
"I didn't do it. If I did, I would answer to the authorities. Where is the proof and why only now? Why did he not report me then?" he said.
"It is possibly a tactical move to further his career overseas."
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