Lawmaker Slams Sulawesi ‘Police Rapists’

Teh Jakarta Globe, October 16, 2013.


A member of the House of Representatives has called on the police to investigate a gang rape allegedly committed against a high-school student by several local police officers in Gorontalo province, Sulawesi.

Eva Kusuma Sundari, a member of House Commission III, which overseas legal affairs, said life sentences should be imposed on those found guilty, adding that the punishment for gang rapists in India is the death sentence.

“It was an act of an animal, brutal and unacceptable. The perpetrators have to be dismissed and legally processed with the most severe punishment,” the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P)politician said in Jakarta.

Police officers are supposed to be protect to the public “and not become criminals or child sex predators,” she said.

Eva said because the victim in Gorontalo was a minor who was raped repeatedly,including in a local police station, theperpetrators deserved to receive the maximum possible punishment.

The 16-year-old high-school student was allegedly raped in July and again in early October by a number of police officers.

The girl was so ashamed of what had happened to her that she ran away from home for a few days before finally telling her parents when she returned.

The victim’s parents immediately reported the case to Gorontalo Police’s Women and Child Protection Unit.

Her parents said she knew one of the officers and who had picked her up from school and took her to his house where he allegedly raped her.

They added that the officer threatened to shoot her if she refused to entertain him and his colleagues.

The victim is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital after her physical and mental condition worsened due to the trauma that she experienced.

During the investigation at the police station, the victim’s parents also brought along the school uniform that she was wearing when she was raped.

Her parents said she was only able to remember the names of two of the officers who allegedly raped her.

Gorontalo Police spokeswoman Lisma Dunggio confirmed that the police hadreceived the report but denied that the rape was committed by nine officers asreported by several media sources.

“It’s not true that there were nine of them. There were only one or two people. And so far that’s just the claim made by the victim’s parents,” Lisma said.

She said that so far the police have questioned five witnesses related to the case, including the victim’s parents.

She said the police have not obtained the names of the alleged rapists and that investigators believe the rapes werecommitted not only by police officers but also civilians.

“The police are still waiting for a chance to obtain information from the victim who is still under medical care,” she said.

Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) chairman Abdul Haris Semendawai said special treatment was needed inhandling rape victims.

“The victim must have experiencedsevere trauma and is scared because the [alleged] perpetrators are police officers. She will also be scared because more than one person committed the rape against her,” Abdul said in a press statement.

He said that in this case, the legal process should not only be focused on the perpetrators but that the victim’s condition should also be taken into consideration.

Abdul said the victim needed a sense of security during the legal process, adding that the main priority in the case was the girl’s recovery.

Aside from her medical recovery, she also needed to recover psychologically so that she will be ready to testify as a witness in the legal process, he added.

Evaluation

Abdul also called on the National Police to conduct an internal investigation, pointing out that the case was not the first alleged rape committed by policeofficers.

He cited a rape case involving a 19-year-old girl that was committed by a Simeulue Police officer in Aceh and another rape of a female detainee at a Poso Police station in Central Sulawesi.

“T h e National Police is hoping toimplement stricter regulations and mechanisms that will clamp down on policeofficers who break the law and prevent this type of incident from recurring,”Abdul said.

He also called for support of rape victims because they are often blamed by the public.

“In rape cases, the idea that the victims are responsible for their part in allowing the crime to happen should be set aside. This makes the victims become victims twice,” he said.

Eva, of the PDI-P, called on the National Police chief to apologize for the rapes committed by officers against minors.

“The National Police chief has to apologize to the public, especially mothers and children. This would also serve as a type of introspection, which would help improve the law-enforcement services,” Eva said.

She urged the National Police torespond to what she described as integrity crisis in the institution, saying that rape cases committed by police officers not only happened in Gorontalo but also in Papua and Aceh.

Eva said such cases showed that there was something wrong in the police training and education system, and that there was poor internal supervision.

“The resistance shown by the National Police chief and high-ranking officials against the concept of women’s rights is the basic cause of these police officersacting as sexual criminals,” she said.

Eva is a prolific campaigner for gender equality who has campaigned againstissues including human trafficking and the inadequate protection offered by the government of the growing number offemale migrant workers.



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