In Jakarta

ANYONE who has lived in Indonesia will be familiar with paranormal occurences which frequently appear in the news. 

Whether about a group of entranced teenagers playing night soccer using a burning ball - a coconut shell soaked with kerosene - or a possesed man riding on a toy horse dancing on fire and eating light bulbs, the stories never fail to catch the attention of the media and general public. 

The latest episode to hit the news is the story of a 10-year-old boy believed to have been gifted with healing powers after being struck by lightning about a month ago.

The boy, Ponari, was hit by lightning, and brought home a stone which fell from the sky immediately after he survived the potentially fatal strike. He had reportedly placed the stone in a glass of water, which was later gulped down by his cousin.

The story has it that the cousin, who had been ill for quite sometime, was then released from the grip of his raging high fever. The news of this "miracle" spread faster than wild fire.

Thousands of people have been flocking to Ponari's home in Jombang, East Java province, and queuing for hours just to drink from a glass of water that Ponari has dipped his stone into. 

Some say the water does heal; others say it doesn't.

But, that has not deterred the thousands - suffering from stroke, diabetes, fever and all manner of illness - from joining the serpentine queues outside Ponari's house, leading to stampedes and suffocation.

Authorities finally intervened after at least three deaths were reported, banning the boy's "practice".

Ponari has since been allowed to keep serving his "patients" but police officers are now deployed in the area to keep things in control. 

Rules have, however, been laid down: The boy will handle only up to 5,000 cases a day, have off days every week and "practise" only after school hours.

Friday was Ponari's first day of school since the lightning strike a month ago. His return to school followed complaints by child right activists about his job as a full-time witch doctor and the deprivation of his rights.

Just today, ElShinta radio reported a 2-kilometer long queue of patients, arriving in cars and on motorcycles outside his house.

Paranormal occurances may not be new to Indonesia, and they certainly provide entertainment for the media. Indeed, they may even prove useful to those in the news.

Sadly, this doesn't look to be the case with Ponari's story, and it's bizarre to see that people still believe so easily in magic.