10 arrested over attack on prostitutes, transvestite

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta police detectives arrested 10 men for attacking three female prostitutes and a transvestite in Brawijaya Park in Kebayoran Baru early on Sunday morning.

South Jakarta Police chief Col. Nono Suprijono said five of the arrested suspects claimed to be members of the Defenders of Islam (FPI), while the rest said they were FPI sympathizers.

"The suspects are said to have committed the crime based on an order given by an FPI member named Tubagus Abdurrachman. However, they have admitted to having no idea about the motive of the attack," Nono told reporters.

The officer said Tubagus was due to meet him on Monday at the South Jakarta Police Headquarters to talk about the incident.

Police identified the victims as transvestite Tini, 18, who suffered serious machete wounds to her left shoulder and arm; prostitute Sarkiyah, 28, who suffered machete wounds to her right thigh; and prostitutes Rita Kanariah, 46, and Atik Lestari, 32, who both suffered facial bruises.

A police source said that during the attack one of the four victims had been stripped by the suspects.

Following the arrest the police confiscated 10 machetes from the suspects as evidence.

Six of the suspects identified themselves to reporters as Slamet Rebo, 41, Mohamad Irwan, 23, Taufik, 21, Syamsudin, 23, Abdurahman, 27 and Supriyadi, 17.

The other four suspects refused to name themselves.

When asked about the identities of the four, none of the police officers, including Nono, were willing to disclose them.

"We need to speak with Tubagus first on Monday and find out what the attack was about. He asked our police chief of detectives (Maj. Ahmad Alwi) to release his 10 men but we refused," Nono argued.

Nono said up until this point in the investigation his officers did not completely believe the suspects' version of events.

"They all confessed that before the attack they had gone to Tubagus' residence in Kalibata to attend a sermon," he said.

"When asked about the content of the sermon, none of them were willing to answer. They said that they had come late and had just followed people coming to Tubagus' house."

A vendor in the vicinity of Brawijaya Park, who witnessed the attack, said he saw some 30 men waving machetes and knives and shouting at the prostitutes to leave the area at about 11:30 p.m. on Saturday.

"The prostitutes were scared ... they didn't dare speak. Then the men started beating them," the vendor said.

According to city police data, this incident is the eighth time the FPI has struck city residents in Greater Jakarta this year.

One of the latest incidents took place on Thursday night when 135 FPI members ran amok and allegedly vandalized a karaoke bar in Ciputat.

The attack left First Sgt. Andrianus P. Lestiono of the Elite Police Mobile Brigade Unit (Brimob) injured.

But FPI member Jafar Sidiq, who is reported to have led the attack, insisted there was no attack on any bar that night.

"About the police officer ... not one member of our group carried a knife or a machete. So how could we hurt anybody? We just had sticks. It's a lie that we attacked the police officer. It was the crowd. There were hundreds," Jafar said. (ylt)