<p><span style="color: #006dd7;" data-ke-size="size23"><b>Sexual harassment alleged at Miss Universe Indonesia </b></span></p><p style="text-align: start;"><span style="color: #6164c6;" data-ke-size="size20"><b>Some contestants have filed complaints with the police saying they were forced to strip down for 'body checks'</b></span></p><div class="figure-img" data-ke-type="image" data-ke-style="alignCenter" data-ke-mobilestyle="widthOrigin"><img src="https://t1.daumcdn.net/cafeattach/1Bg5E/eab422fa10bbaccfa8b3578a367d06f00a847744" class="txc-image" data-img-src="https://t1.daumcdn.net/cafeattach/1Bg5E/eab422fa10bbaccfa8b3578a367d06f00a847744" data-origin-width="1100" data-origin-height="740"></div><p>Contestants at the Miss Universe Indonesia. (Photo: <a style="color: #00aeef;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CvlylYyLY1r/?hl=en" target="_top" class="ke-link">Instagram-@missuniverse_id</a>)</p><div class="figure-img" data-ke-type="image" data-ke-style="alignCenter" data-ke-mobilestyle="widthOrigin"><img src="https://t1.daumcdn.net/cafeattach/1Bg5E/755e3084f1e10719f8827d0e06556d4c2e4bf7b5" class="txc-image" data-img-src="https://t1.daumcdn.net/cafeattach/1Bg5E/755e3084f1e10719f8827d0e06556d4c2e4bf7b5" data-origin-width="171" data-origin-height="171"></div><p>By <a style="color: #00aeef;" href="https://www.ucanews.com/author/afp" target="_top" class="ke-link">AFP, Jakarta</a></p><p>Published: August 09, 2023 04:38 AM GMT</p><p> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">More than half a dozen women competing in the Miss Universe Indonesia beauty pageant have reported organizers to police over allegations of sexual harassment, their lawyer said Tuesday.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">The complaint came after the seven finalists in the contest, held in the capital Jakarta from July 29 to August 3, were unexpectedly asked to strip for a supposed body check two days before the pageant's crowning ceremony.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">Officials from the license holder of Miss Universe in Indonesia, PT Capella Swastika Karya, insisted they had "to examine any scars, cellulite or tattoos on their bodies," the contestants' lawyer Mellisa Anggraini told AFP.</span></p><p> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">"The finalists were not aware that they would be subjected to such a procedure, as it was originally planned to be a fitting," Anggraini told AFP.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">She said all 30 finalists in the pageant were subjected to the unexpected body check, and five of them had their pictures taken.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">The number of contestants coming forward with complaints could rise, she said, as more finalists have given her the authority to report the incidents.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">Jakarta police spokesman Trunoyudo Wisnu Andiko told reporters on Tuesday that a police report had been filed by the contestants.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">Police launched a probe into the complaint using the report as "the basis for our further investigation", he said.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">Poppy Capella, national director of Miss Universe Indonesia, did not confirm‎ or deny the allegations in an Instagram post, but expressed gratitude to those who had shared "their views, feelings and perspectives with us" over the incident.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">"Your comments are not mere words: they are a potent force," she wrote.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">Miss Universe's global organization did not respond to an emailed request for comment.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">Broadcaster Kompas TV showed the women holding a press conference about the allegations, hiding their identities as they spoke.</span></p><p style="text-align: start;"> </p><p style="text-align: start;"><span data-ke-size="size20">The competition was held to choose Indonesia's representative at this year's Miss Universe contest, which was founded in the 1950s.</span></p>
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