ALOR SETAR – A brain cancer patient lost her home and more than RM60,000 in savings after falling victim to a bomoh (shaman) who claimed to be able to cure her illness.
Che Intan Md Zain, 62, said the incident happened 10 years ago, but she still remembers it vividly.
She was introduced to the bomoh by a friend after fearing hospital treatment due to the painful procedures.
She underwent surgery at the Penang Hospital after being diagnosed with brain cancer in 2011, where she had to remove a tumour from the left side of her brain, as well as undergo a Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
"I was afraid to continue the treatment and coincidentally, a friend introduced me to a bomoh.
"The bomoh told me to bathe with seven types of flowers for seven days and to find the heart of a bird that died because of love. He also asked me to find a kain kafan (white shroud) of someone who died on a Tuesday, but I couldn’t get it.
"The bomoh said he could find it for me and asked for money to help get it," she said when met at the "Ramadan Kita" event organised by Environment Idaman Sdn Bhd in collaboration with the Cancer Survivors Malaysia organisation, recently.
She added that the bomoh also requested for other unusual things such as soil from a cemetery and water from the ablution pools of seven different mosques.
Che Intan said she trusted the bomoh so much that she sold her house, jewellery and handed over more than RM60,000 in savings to him.
"It turned out I was scammed. My cancer worsened to the point that one of my eyes became blurry because I did not receive proper medical treatment," she said.
She hoped that her story would serve as a lesson, especially for other cancer patients, reminding them to seek proper medical treatment and be cautious of false promises from sham healers.
Due to the scam, Che Intan is now living with her aging mother, Hatijah Long, 86. Meanwhile, her husband, Maznan Mohd Din, 62, has stopped working as a security guard due to his age.
The couple has a 33-year-old son who is married and lives separately, while their adopted 16-year-old child lives with them.
Meanwhile, CSM chairperson Zuraini Kamal advised cancer patients not to be easily deceived by bomoh treatments and seek medical treatment at hospitals instead.
"Government hospital treatments are not as expensive as what this bomoh demanded and in fact, some patients have recovered after undergoing modern treatments such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy," she said.
She also emphasised the importance of health awareness to ensure that cancer patients do not fall victim to irresponsible individuals.