Businessman 'abducts' 4 girls

SEMARANG: A building contractor was arrested yesterday and charged with abducting four teenage girls and taking them to a hotel here.

The four girls -- three aged 16 and the other 17 -- met up with the man and were taken to a hotel where they were allegedly held for four days by 32-year-old Her.

Her denied the charges. "We did it willingly. I never forced them," said Her, adding that there was also no financial transaction involved.

As reported by Antara, police began looking for the girls after their parents reported that the students had been missing for several days.

Her claims to have met the girls in the Simpang Lima area in Semarang. "They were afraid to go home because they had stayed out too late. When I invited them to go to a hotel with me they agreed," Her recounted. (mds)