100 police to protect rape trial
JAKARTA (JP): At least 100 anti-riot police will stand guard at the trial of men accused of gang rape and robbery in the town of Bekasi, 30 km south of here, shortly.
The Bekasi Prosecutor's Office said yesterday that since the rape of Acan's wife and two daughters in an isolated village of the regency in July had caused serious outrage, with members of the community attacking the suspects' lawyers, the court case needs serious security measures.
An official of the Prosecutor's Office, who preferred to remain unidentified, told The Jakarta Post yesterday that his office had requested that the trial be held under police protection. The police had promised to send 100 members of the anti-riot unit.
The official could not say when the trial would take place because his office is still studying the case. He added that after a week the Prosecutor's Office will submit the dossiers to the local district court, which in turn will need another week to study them.
Eleven suspects, whose ages range between 17 to 23 years old, are now in police custody on charges of brutally raping the 43- year-old woman and her two daughters, aged 15 and 14 at their house in Cimatis village. The family's jewelry was also stolen.
Thousands of people, including officials from Jakarta, have expressed sympathy for the family.
During a pretrial of the case at the Bekasi court in August, in which the nine defense lawyers were suing the police for illegally arresting the suspects, an angry mob attacked the advocates.
One of the people also tried to assault one of the lawyers with a knife and one lawyers' car was heavily damaged.
The local district court has decided that the trial will take place at the Bekasi Civil Servants' Hall mid next month.
The chief secretary of the district court, J.A. Situru, told the Post at his office yesterday that the decision was made on the basis that the local courthouse would be unable to accommodate the huge number of people expected to attend the trial. The building is also under renovation.
"We are constructing rooms at the hall for the trial, it will be like a courthouse," he said. (03)