Councilor want rapists sentenced to death

JAKARTA (JP): The men who gang raped a mother and her two teenage daughters in Bekasi last Monday should be punished to the fullest extent of the law, said M.H. Ritonga, the chairman of the City Council.

M.H. Ritonga, a former Jakarta police chief, said yesterday that such criminals must be sentenced to death.

As reported earlier, a group of eight burglars armed with sharp weapons broke into the house of Acan, 45, in the Pondok Gede district of Bekasi, 30 kilometers east of Jakarta, at approximately 3:3O a.m. on Monday.

Failing to find any valuables in the house, the men dragged Acan's wife, An, 43, to the kitchen and took turns raping her after the criminals had tied up Acan and his son, Ali, 18.

The men then proceeded to rape both of Acan's daughters, identified only as Ng, 15, and Ac, 14, after dragging the junior high schools students into two different rooms.

"I agree that they must be sentenced to death, as long as our criminal law makes it possible," Ritonga said.

Zakiruddin Djamin, the secretary-general of the Jakarta Ulema Council, concurred with Ritonga saying that the men deserved death.

"They are not human beings. They are ferocious animals," Zakiruddin said in disgust. He said under Islamic teaching they would be immediately punished without having to undergo any legal procedures.

Zakiruddin, who is also a city councilor, urged the authorities to intensify their efforts to rid the city of its criminals.

He said that the operation should also target the illegal circulation of alcoholic beverages and banned drugs.

Data from the city security office show that 298 bottles of alcohol have been confiscated in the last two months.

A source at the office told The Jakarta Post that the circulation of alcoholic drinks and drugs has spread to Bogor, Tangerang and Bekasi, in West Java.(32)