The Jakarta Globe, January 31, 2014.
“Kolor Ijo,” a man who gained notoriety over the past decade as a brutal rapist and robber, has been arrested in the East Java town of Probolinggo after allegedly violating at least 31 women.
The name “Kolor Ijo” (Indonesian for “Green Underpants”) has stirred fear among women in Probolinggo and its surrounding areas since the man allegedly began committing his actions in 2004. He has reportedly robbed dozens of houses and abducted their female occupants before raping and deserting them in paddy fields or outside the homes.
He reportedly always wore a green pair of underpants while committing the crimes. He successfully eluded law enforcers for 10 years until the Probolinggo Police finally arrested Buasir Nur Khotib, 50, in his house in Pohsangit Lot village in the subdistrict of Wonomerto on Thursday.
Buasir is believed to be the infamous “Kolor Ijo,” and he admitted to police investigators to having raped 31 women over the past 10 years.
“We suspect, though, that the number of victims is more than that,” Probolinggo Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Iwan Setiawan told Indonesian news portal kompas.com on Thursday.
Buasir was arrested after a police officer disguised as a patient seeking Buasir’s traditional healing methods managed to collect Buasir’s finger print from a bottle of water the alleged rapist had supposedly cast a charm on, Iwan said.
The finger print, added Iwan, matches the one police collected from a prior rape case some time ago. Police did not mention exactly when the alleged rape took place.
Police also seized from Buasir a cell phone belonging to one of his victims along with other items such as a laptop, cash, a sickle, a black stone and an amulet.
Citing Buasir’s testimonies, Iwan said the alleged thief and rapist performed black magic rituals to help him in his crimes, tribunnews.com reported.
After spying on his target home for two days, Buasir would supposedly cast charms and walk around the house to induce a soporific spell on the occupants and allow him to enter the locked house with ease.
“After performing the ritual, ‘Kolor Ijo’ would steal items such as cell phones, money and laptops,” Iwan said. “And then he would carry the woman outside and rape her in a paddy field or outside the house.’
“After raping her, the ‘Green Underpants’ would desert the victim. He would put a stone on his body to prevent her cries from being heard by other people,” Iwan added.
He said police were charging Buasir for rape and robbery. He is facing up to 12 years in prison.
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vr 31 jan 2014 - 8:36