“Acting” as if a friend went missing in the Bandung forest for social media content, two Malaysian influencers apologize

Two Malaysian influencers involved in creating social media content claiming that their friend went missing in a forest in Bandung, Indonesia, have issued a public apology.

In a video uploaded by Indonesian news portal KumparanNews on their social media page, the influencers, Aras Abdullah and Ammar Mohd Nzahan, apologized for the incident and promised not to repeat it.

“I, Anas Abdullah, as a Malaysian TikToker, and this is Ammar (a Malaysian YouTuber). We would like to apologize for what happened and promise not to do it again. That’s all, thank you,” Aras said in the video.

KumparanNews reported that Panyileukan Police Chief, Commissioner Kurnia, stated that both individuals also signed a written apology.

Earlier, media reports stated that a social media influencer known as Eyka, who was reported missing after entering a forest in Bandung, was found safe after three days.

The 22-year-old woman was discovered around 10 PM last Tuesday, and her discovery was shared via a live stream on TikTok @Arasz before it went viral.

Previously, news of the woman’s disappearance spread after Ammar shared that he realized she was missing at 2 AM on Monday while they were conducting a paranormal activity session in the forest.

Yesterday, Indonesian police stated that the two influencers had only staged the disappearance of their friend.

KumparanNews reported that police investigations found the missing persons claim to be a fabricated story.

Kurnia stated that based on their testimony to the police, the influencers admitted to live streaming at Bukit Embah Garut RT 05, RW 09, Kelurahan Cisurupan, Kecamatan Cibiru, Kota Bandung, last Sunday on TikTok with the sensational story of a ‘Malaysian influencer (girl) missing for 48 hours while making content about paranormal activities.’

He added that the sensational content was created solely to increase views and followers.