Music critic Benedict Benny Hadi Utomo, or popularly known as Bens Leo, passed away at 69. According to a statement written by his family, he died on Monday (29 November) morning while being hospitalised at Fatmawati hospital due to COVID-19. He left his wife Pauline Endang and his only son Addo Gustaf Putra.

As reported by CNN Indonesia, fellow music critic Adib Hidayat tweeted that Bens Leo’s wife on Saturday (27 November) informed him that the music critic has been hospitalised since 22 November and was in a critical condition. 

Bens Leo was born in Pasuruan, East Java on 8 August 1952. Besides being a music critic and journalist, he was also an early member of the Anugerah Musik Indonesia (AMI) promotion team and a music producer. He was the producer of Kahitna’s debut album “Cerita Cinta” that was released in 1993. 

In 1976, he was invited to the World Popular Song Festival Tokyo in Japan on the behalf of Indonesian music magazine Aktuil, accompanying Indonesian singers and musicians, namely Guruh Soekarnoputra, Grace Simon and Idris Sardi. He was the only Indonesian journalist to cover the festival. Bens Leo is also known as a figure who strongly opposed piracy in the music industry.