Councilor want rapists sentenced to death

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)