Bekasi rocked by another robbery and gang rape

Bekasi rocked by another robbery and gang rape

BEKASI (JP): Bekasi has been rocked by another robbery and
gang rape. The latest incident occurred in Lengahjaya village,
Cabangbungin district, on Sunday.

Police are still hunting four suspects from last Tuesday's
robbery and gang rape in the village of Cikedokan, also in
Bekasi.

"At least 20 people have been questioned over Sunday's crime
but the police have yet to come to any conclusion," Bekasi Police
Chief Lt. Col. Elfrizo Tobing said yesterday.

The incident, the fifth in Bekasi during March, took place at
a house belonging to H. Jeli, 60, in Kampung Batujaya of
Lengahjaya village, Cabangbungin, 60 kilometers north of central
Bekasi.

At least five masked men armed with sharp weapons broke into
Jeli's house, stole Rp 5 million in cash, jewelry and electronics
goods and raped Jeli's wife before leaving.

"I'm an old woman, why did they rape me?" asked the victim.

Tobing said that police are still hunting for four of seven
suspects after last Tuesday's robbery and gang rape in Kampung
Kemurang in the village of Cikedokan,

The other three, identified as Lanzan, 27, Wadi, 25, and
Calim, 29, were arrested on March 20, a day after the robbery, at
their respective houses at the Cibitung village, said here
yesterday.

The three suspects were identified and arrested thanks to the
statements gathered from the victim's neighbors, Tobing said.

"We were informed that a number of men had come to the scene a
day earlier for unknown reasons," he said.

At around 1 a.m. the next day, the seven-member group, wearing
masks and holding sharp weapons, broke into the house. Before
making off with a Suzuki carry minibus, 98 grams of gold jewelry
and some electronic equipments, some of the group members are
believed to have raped Sutisna's 27-year-old wife.

"Preliminary investigation said that it was Calim who
allegedly raped the housewife," Tobing said.

After breaking into the small trader's home, the group is
believed to have broken into a neighboring house belonging to
Empe, 55. The robbers stole Rp 90,000 and five grams of gold
jewelry. They sexually molested two of Empe's teenage daughters
before leaving.

"We're still collecting information in connection with this
case," Tobing said.

Aware of the increasing trend of the brutality of the robbers,
spokesman Iman urged the community to strengthen their self-
sponsored nightwatch system.

"Looking at the small number of police personnel and the huge
area of Bekasi, we hope that the local people are willing to help
the police to guard their own communities by working together to
combat the criminals," Iman said.

Bekasi, located east of Jakarta, currently has 1,150 police
personnel, compared to 2.7 million inhabitants. Its area,
comprised mostly of small, isolated villages, is almost two times
larger than the capital.

Another similar case occurred Monday last week when a group of
three robbers broke into the bamboo house of Ijo, 40, a poor
farmer in Kampung Sungailahang in the Pantai Harapan Jaya
village. The robbers stole 50 grams of gold jewelry before raping
the farmer's 35-year-old wife. (bsr)