Boarding House Keeper's Testimony on Woman Confined in Cileunyi, Bandung

A woman with the initials YTR (29) was allegedly confined and abused by her boyfriend, Taufik Hidayat (TH), in a boarding house in Cinunuk Village, Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency, West Java. The boarding house, where the suspect previously lived and where YTR was allegedly confined, is located in an alley about 50 metres from the main road. The two-storey building faces rice fields and several residents’ homes. According to the boarding house keeper, Resa Rohendi, Taufik and the victim lived in a ground-floor unit. Resa recounted that Taufik and the victim had only moved into the boarding house in early March. At that time, after paying the rent, Taufik was seen supporting the victim into the room. From then until the alleged confinement and abuse case came to light, the victim and suspect lived there for about three months. “From the start, I asked for a marriage certificate. But he never gave it, and after a month, I asked the suspect again. He instead challenged me to a fight,” Resa said on Tuesday (23/6). The case was uncovered when the suspect asked Resa for help taking the victim to hospital. Resa said he was with the victim in an online taxi, while the suspect followed on a motorcycle. He said they initially went to a hospital in Ujungberung, Bandung City, then were referred to Hasan Sadikin Hospital (RSHS). Resa said he felt something was wrong because the suspect told him to claim he was the victim’s relative. The victim was also told to say she fell in the bathroom. Furthermore, during the journey, Resa, who sat in the front seat of the car, could not communicate much with the victim, who was wearing a headscarf and a mask. “So from here, we went to Ujungberung Hospital first. Then, in the emergency room, I already felt something was off. Because the suspect told me to claim I was her relative,” he said. “When I tried to talk to her, she just nodded,” he added. After arriving at RSHS, Resa explained that the suspect again forced him to claim he was the victim’s relative. However, this time Resa refused and chose to answer honestly. Eventually, the hospital staff asked for the victim’s family to be contacted, but Resa said the suspect instead took him outside and challenged him to a fight. Resa said that afterwards, the suspect left for an unknown destination. Shortly after, the victim’s family arrived and saw her condition. The ordeal did not end there; Resa said he and his family were also threatened because the suspect and several others later came looking for him, allegedly carrying a sharp weapon. “He came here [Resa’s house] with his friends in a group, carrying a machete. My wife was still at home and saw it from inside. He shouted, ‘Where is Resa? I’ll kill you.’ Meanwhile, I was on the road heading home,” he said. The boarding house keeper’s wife, Mulyati, said that in her daily observations, the victim never left the boarding room. She said only Taufik frequently went out for activities and always locked the door even if he was only gone for a short while. Mulyati said she never heard screams from inside the room. However, she often heard banging sounds against the wall. She said that when the suspect went out, she often asked about the wall-banging sounds. But the suspect always denied it and acted as if nothing had happened. In daily life, Mulyati observed the suspect was a temperamental person. “He was easily angered and would suddenly challenge people to a fight,” Mulyati explained. Meanwhile, the West Java Regional Police’s Inafis team searched the boarding house, which was the scene of the crime, on Tuesday. After processing the scene for about two and a half hours, officers were seen carrying items out of the room in suitcases, backpacks, and white plastic bags. After completing the search, officers immediately left the location. The local neighbourhood chief, Ahmad Solihin, said the police activity lasted from noon until half past two. Ahmad said he was asked to assist officers during the crime scene investigation by ensuring no residents approached the area to keep the sterilised zone secure. He mentioned that several items of evidence were seized by officers and placed directly into the Inafis vehicle for further examination, including a helmet, clothing, and bags.