Two men arrested from kidnapping syndicate<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Police have arrested two men in connection with
\na crime ring that kidnapped women from bus terminals in Jakarta
\nand elsewhere after luring them away with promises of employment.<\/p>\n
The two were arrested by police agents on Saturday together
\nwith a total of 31 women, aged between 13 and 35, some of whom
\nhad been locked up for almost a month at a semi-permanent
\nbuilding which also functions as the offices of a foundation in
\nWest Jakarta.<\/p>\n
But the arrest of the suspects was only announced by police on
\nMonday, as they feared an immediate announcement would disrupt
\nthe investigation of other members of the syndicate.<\/p>\n
All of the 32, who had aspired to move to Jakarta from West
\nand Central Java, were in good condition and will be sent back to
\ntheir hometowns on Monday at the cost of the police, spokesman
\nfor the National Police Headquarters Col. Hari Sutanto told
\nreporters.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, national police investigators are still looking for
\nthe other members of the group and the motives behind their
\nactivities.<\/p>\n
The girls were picked up by the suspects at bus terminals at
\ntheir hometowns as well as in city bus stations, Hari said.<\/p>\n
Most of the victims said they returned to Jakarta from their
\nhometowns after the Idul Fitri holidays to find work in the city.<\/p>\n
After a short conversation, the group members tried to tease
\nor even force the young females to go with them saying that they
\nhad jobs available for people like them.<\/p>\n
The two suspects, identified as Waldemar Napitupulu, 45, and
\nPergok Simatupang, 40, was arrested Saturday at Yayasan Manggaris
\n(Manggaris Foundation) on Jl. Jembatan Besi Number 33 in Jembatan
\nBesi, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Acting on information from a woman who escaped from her
\ncaptors on Friday, police arrested the two on Saturday at the
\nfoundation office which also served as their \"detention center.\"<\/p>\n
The rural girls said that some had been put in the building
\nfor about a week, while others for about a month, said Lt. Col.
\nHasyim Irianto at the National Police Investigation Unit.<\/p>\n
Although the girls were not allowed to leave the building,
\nthey were still given food by the suspects and their men.<\/p>\n
\"They gave us meal twice a day but sometimes some of the group
\nmembers hit us with their hands for unknown reasons,\" said Umi,
\n16, a resident of Purbalingga, Central Java, who was picked up by
\nthe group at the Grogol bus terminal.<\/p>\n
Torture<\/p>\n
Umi, however, confessed that none of them had been tortured or
\nraped during their ordeal.<\/p>\n
Deputy Head of the investigation unit for general affairs, Lt.
\nCol. Mochammad Arifin Rachmat, who accompanied Hasyim and Hari at
\nthe press meeting, said that the syndicate might consist of a
\nlarge number of people in the city and many towns in West and
\nCentral Java.<\/p>\n
\"We need to intensively investigate the syndicates main
\nmotives and find out their precise ring members,\" Arifin said.<\/p>\n
Spokesman Hari said that if the suspects were found guilty,
\nthey might face a maximum imprisonment of eight years as
\nstipulated in Article 333 of the existing Criminal Code for
\nkidnapping.<\/p>\n
Based on the questioning, the two suspects said that they paid
\nthe men who brought the women to them house between Rp 35,000
\n(US$16.35) and Rp 45,000 ($21) per person, Hasyim said.<\/p>\n
\"The suspects collected Rp 80,000 ($37.40) per girl from a
\nperson who employ the girls as housemaids,\" he added. (bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/two-men-arrested-from-kidnapping-syndicate-1447893297",
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