Iko Uwais, Indonesian martial arts star who rose to fame in Hollywood and Netflix’s Wu Assassins accused of assaulting interior designer
- Uwais has denied the charge of assault against him, and has lodged a report against an interior designer known by his initial ‘R’ for criminal act and slander
- Dispute between Uwais and ‘R’ stems from interior design work done at the actor’s home, and conflict over payment of the project
Uwais had a police report lodged against him on Monday by someone who worked on his home.
In his report, Uwais alleged he hired R to work on his home and paid him 50 per cent upfront as agreed upon. When the work was completed, the result was not according to the original design he was shown.
Uwais claimed he told someone to get in touch with R to “revise his work” but R failed to “fulfil his obligations. But instead, R allegedly insulted his wife, singer Audy Item, accusing her of dabbling in ‘black magic’,” Jakarta police spokesman Zulpan reportedly said. R is also alleged to have given the excuse that he was not in town.
Last Saturday, by chance R was spotted crossing the road in front of Uwais’ home in Bekasi city in Greater Jakarta.
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That prompted Uwais to begin recording R. Seeing this, the interior designer allegedly shouted at Uwais and his family. Meanwhile, R’s wife started recording the commotion. When Uwais tried to stop R’s wife, he claimed R injured him with a kick to the ribs.
On Saturday, R and his wife were driving past Uwais’ house, when the movie star saw them and told them to step out of the car. The couple got into an argument with Uwais and his wife, as well as a colleague named Firmansyah.
“After the verbal argument, Uwais and Firmansyah punched the victim, causing him to bleed. The victim then reported the incident to the Bekasi Metro Police,” Zulpan was quoted by local press.
R reportedly sustained bruises to his face, right arm, and back.
Police said Uwais will be called for questioning.
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Earlier this year, he completed filming the Hollywood franchise The Expendables 4 where he starred alongside Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham.
The boyish-looking Uwais is a master of silat, a traditional martial art practised in Indonesia. The actor was national champion in 2005.
Uwais’ talent was discovered by Welsh film director Gareth Evans, who visited Uwais’ silat school for a documentary in 2007.
That chance encounter led Uwais to quit his day job as a driver and join Evans’ movie production company, where he eventually became the leading actor in his films.
