JAKARTA: Detectives from Riau Police arrested a former finalist of the 2014 Putri Indonesia pageant for opening a beauty clinic without a licence and conducting high-risk medial procedures without any expertise.
Special Crimes Investigation Director Sr Comr Ade Kuncoro said the suspect, identified as JRF, was arrested after she ignored two summonses for questioning.
Detectives from Sub-Directorate IV, which handles health and cosmetics cases, arrested her in her family residence in Bukit Ambacang area in Bukittingi city, West Sumatra.
“She is already named a suspect because detectives already have more than two pieces of legitimate evidence,” he said on Thursday (April 30).
He said that JRF managed Arauna Beauty Clinic on Jl. Tengku Bey in Pekanbaru, which offered various aesthetic treatments. The suspect also claimed to be a doctor to her patients.
“She offered various aesthetic treatments and promoted them through social media,” he said.
“Her clinic is believed to start in 2019 and she charged up to Rp 16 million [US$924.58] for one treatment.”
Ade said JRF did not have any formal education in medical or health field and only took a short training in Jakarta in 2019.
The certificate was obtained improperly because it was aimed at medical or health professionals. She used the certificate to open the beauty clinic.
“Based on our investigation, the suspect could take part in the training due to her relations with the organiser,” he said.
The case was unravelled after a victim, identified as NS, filed a police report after suffering serious wounds following facelift and eyebrow facelift procedures on July 4, 2025.
NS suffered from severe hemorrhaging and serious infection on her face and head, forcing her to be treated at home for months with the wounds treated only with bandages.
The infection caused permanent disfigurement. In addition to elongated scars in her eyebrows, NS also suffered from damaged scalp causing her hair to not grow normally.
She also had to underwent surgeries and treatments at several hospitals in Batam, Riau Islands, to treat festering wounds in her face and head.
“The suspect is believed to have performed medical treatment without competence and authority as a medical worker,” Ade said.
“Our investigation shows that her treatment caused serious impact to the victims.”
After a series of inquiries and questioning witnesses and experts, the police upgraded the case to official investigation on Feb 26. Detectives then traced the suspect’s whereabouts and found and arrested her in West Sumatra.
So far, police have found 15 victims.
“One of the victims suffered from lips surgery failure twice, causing permanent disability and psychological trauma,” Ade said.
He called on the public not to be tempted by promotions of beauty services without checking the licenses, medical background and the health facility’s track record.
“The public must be more selective and ensure the legality of both medical workers and clinic before taking any health and beauty procedures,” he said.
Ade said the suspect is charged with Article 439 of Law No. 17/2023 on Health in conjunction with Law No. 8/1999 on Consumer Protection.
Meanwhile, lawyers for victims NS and NA, Mark Harianja and Alqudri Tampubolon, said the suspect was reckless by performing surgeries because she only had a degree in English Literature.
“We filed a report on the case with Riau Police on Nov. 25, 2025,” Mark said.
“We appreciate the detectives for working hard in the case, leading to the arrest of RJF and named her suspect.”
He said the victims were lured by lower price for beauty procedures at the clinic.
“The clinic provided huge discount, up to 50 per cent and enticed the victims by showing testimonies of photos of surgery results.” Mark also said he had checked the suspect’s expertise to the Indonesian Medical Association (IDI). The result was that JRF does not have STR doctor registration and SIP practice licence.
“This means all medical procedures she conducted were without legal base or professional competence,” he said.
“The victims suffered not only from physical impacts but their mental conditions are also disturbed.”
He said that the clients had to undergo reconstruction surgery by a plastic surgery specialist in Batam to repair the damage.
“The total recovery cost reached more than Rp 200 million,” he said. “This more than just malpractice but suspected serious crime.” Read also: Intern doctor fatalities fuel concerns over heavy workload, low welfare Alex called on other victims who have yet to file police reports to do so.
“We will keep a close eye on the case to the trial session. That’s why we encourage victims to file report,” he said.
“The more evidence and witnesses we can gather, the stronger the case will be in court.” He added that the aim in filing a report in the case was not only to seek justice for victims but also to provide deterrents so there will be no similar cases in the future.
“This is a lesson to prevent more victims of illegal medical practices endangering the public lives,” he said. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
