When did you speak to Tika (Mariezka)?

I spoke to her the following morning. She was the School Manager of TBI Depok, so she was at work early in the morning.

What did she say to you?

I spent over three hours talking to her in all that day. I rang her back three times because either Mariezka or I were called away at various points. It was a fascinating conversation. I learned a great deal about TBI that day. We discussed Ashley Platts, Scott Martin, Luke’s relationship with Mariam, his terrible reputation amongst teachers in Bandung and much besides.

What did you learn about the appointment of Scott Martin as School Manager at Jalan Jawa?

I learned that Mariezka had sent her CV to Luke Preece to apply for the position. She still had the email in the inbox of her email account. The date was April 17, 2010 if I remember correctly. She told me that Luke Preece claimed not have received her CV at the time but this was blatantly false as she still had the email. She believed that Luke Preece had failed to pass on her CV to Ibu Tuti so that Scott Martin would get the job. She said that Ratna and Jodi had wanted to apply for the job jointly too but that Luke Preece had quashed that idea also. She said that Luke Preece had actively intervened in every aspect of the application process so that Scott Martin was the only official candidate, but really it was all rigged.

Were you shocked at this point?

I realized that Luke Preece was not the man he had been pretending to be. I realized that he was some kind of con-man and I would have to re-evaluate everything he had ever told me in light of this new information.

What exactly did she say about the process?

She had sent in her CV before the deadline. It had been sent to Luke Preece. Luke claimed not to have received it and said that he was unable to accept applicants whose CVs had been sent in after the deadline. Mariezka had gone to Jodi Shiek and complained. All the Indonesian teachers at Jalan Jawa regarded it as a scandal and the whole school was in turmoil over the news of what had happened. Jodi Shiek had then gone to Mariam Kartikatresni, the TBI Director, and complained about Luke. However Mariam had backed up Luke and Mariezka was not allowed to apply for the job, even though she had the email proving she had submitted her CV before the deadline. According to Mariezka, Jodi Shiek was very upset with Luke and Scott, and Jalan Jawa was a very unhappy and divided workplace for a long while there. Mariezka told me that she had learned at this point that Luke Preece had been doing this sort of thing for years in Bandung and there had been numerous complaints made to Head Office. However the consensus was that Luke Preece was protected somehow at Head Office and there was no point complaining about him, even if you had strong proof of wrongdoing. Mariam Kartikatresni would always support him, no matter what he did.

Below is a photo of Scott Martin (left) and Luke Preece (right) on holidays in Phuket, Thailand together in September 2009.

Scott and Luke in Phuket’s red light district in 2009