A famous Malaysian "bone-setting" tit-tar practitioner, Chris Leong, continues to be held in an Indonesian jail more than six weeks after his initial arrest.

Leong, whose claim to fame has been his near-miraculous live video demonstrations of instantaneously alleviating pain and bodily discomfort of those he treats, is a social media Facebook star whose routine has been watched millions of times around the world.

Arrested

According to Antara News Sumsel, Leong and his team of 19, were arrested on Jan. 9 in Palembang for allegedly abusing their tourist visas.

It was alleged that the group had been charging patients for their services, and also claiming to be doing charity work in the country.

The Star reported that the arrest occurred after an undercover Indonesian immigration enforcement officer posed as a patient and was charged 4.5 million rupiah (S$430) for a session of tit-tar.

Of the 20 people arrested, 16, including Leong, are Malaysian, two from Hong Kong, one from Ireland, and one from Belgium.

They have as of Feb. 25, been held for 47 days without trial.

Employees start a petition

Leong’s employees in Malaysia, described as being “totally devastated and disheartened”, believe that it is illegal for him to be held for longer than 40 days without a trial.

They have started a petition to the Malaysian government to facilitate the release of the TCM practitioner and his team.

As of writing, the petition has more than 25,000 signatures.

Social media sensation

Leong is a well-known "master" of tit-tar, which is the practice of "bone-setting" utilising a traditional Chinese form of chiropractic.

Videos of him performing tit-tar on various patients around the world are often shared and seen on social media.

Leong's YouTube page has 82,400 subscribers, with some of his videos getting over a million views.

His Facebook page, which is believed to have been disabled some time during his incarceration, had over 1.4 million followers.

After he was arrested in Indonesia, there was concern from customers who had made payment about his no-show.

Leong had posted on Facebook previously assuring refunds:

“We know you are concerned. So sorry that the tour to Jakarta and Surabaya has been cancelled. We will process the refund back to you. Please give us some time and you will receive a text or an email from us soon. Sorry for any inconvenience.”

In a previous version of the online petition, Leong's employees had made allegations of Leong and his entourage being mistreated throughout their detention.

The supposed mistreatment included long hours of interrogation without meals or toilet breaks, daily abuse to provide free "tit-tar" treatment to outsiders from the immigration and prison officers' families as well as other authorities, sexual assault of female detainees, and daily labour and construction work.

The employees also allege that they were being coerced to make false statements under pressure so authorities there can take legal action and charge them.

Top image screenshot from Chris Leong Channel YouTube