70-year-old woman hacked to death over suspected witchcraft in North Maluku

A 70-year-old Indonesian woman was hacked to death in the remote east of the country by machete-wielding men who suspected her of performing witchcraft, police said on Monday.

Three men attacked Nuryan Umanahu early Sunday in the village of Buya in the Sula Islands of North Maluku, after one of them became suspicious she had cast a spell on his wife.

“While she was sick, the wife often felt possessed and said that the old woman had cast a spell on her,” local police official Arifin La Ode Buri told AFP.

“Her husband believed this and took his friends to search for the old woman.”

The husband was accompanied by a large mob of villagers to the old lady’s house, but only three went inside and carried out the killing, said Buri.

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of murder, he added.



Reader Interactions

Leave A Reply


BECOME A COCO+ MEMBER

Support local news and join a community of like-minded
“Coconauts” across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong.

Join Now
Coconuts TV
Our latest and greatest original videos
Subscribe on