Drunk men caught raping teenager

TANGERANG (JP): Residents of Babakan village in Serpong caught and attacked a drunken man for sexually assaulting an 18-year-old girl late on Thursday.

The man, identified as Sinuraya, was caught by the residents, along with four accomplices, raping victim Warni, chief of Serpong police subprecinct Capt. Hartyono told reporters on Friday.

However, the other four managed to escape from the angry villagers.

"I thank the residents for their alertness and hope that we can arrest the other four soon," the officer said.

Sinuraya, suffering light head injuries, was handed over to the police by the residents.

According to the villagers, Sinuraya was saved from the angry mob because police officers arrived immediately after he was caught in his rented house.

Hartyono said preliminary investigations showed Warni was first attacked at about 11 p.m. as she was on her way home from work in Kemang, South Jakarta.

She had just got off a public minivan in Serpong when she was accosted by a group of five drunken men. They tried to get her attention and teased her but she ignored them, he said.

"Feeling offended, the five then dragged Warni to Sinuraya's house and gave her a kind of tranquilizer pill," officer Hartyono said.

However, the sounds from the house alerted a neighbor, Ayat, 50, who became suspicious and investigated.

The elderly resident was shocked to see the girl being raped in turn by the five men, the officer said.

He shouted for help, alerting other residents, who then rushed to the site to stop the assault.

"The four others managed to flee before residents could catch them," Ayat said.(41/emf)