Family of Bandung Confinement Victim Had Early Suspicions About Perpetrator

The family of the victim of confinement and alleged torture of a woman with the initials YTR in Bandung has finally spoken out. The victim’s brother, Afif, and his wife, Melanie, recounted the chronology of events experienced by YTR. Melanie revealed that the last time the family gathered with YTR was during Eid al-Fitr 2024. At that time, YTR’s life was proceeding as normal. ‘The last time we gathered together was Eid al-Fitr 2024. She initially worked at a company in Rancaekek in our area. Then she was transferred to Pasteur, Bandung. Initially it was normal, she came home on Friday because she had to work overtime at the Rancaekek factory on Saturday. So every Friday to Sunday she was at home, then returned to Pasteur on Monday,’ Melanie said. Melanie also recounted how the family first became aware of the perpetrator’s closeness to the victim. She had seen her sister-in-law upload a photo of the perpetrator on the victim’s WhatsApp status. As a sister-in-law, Melanie asked YTR to introduce the perpetrator to the family. However, due to busy schedules, the victim had not yet had the chance to introduce him. ‘Four to five months after the transfer, things were still fine. I don’t know when she got to know this man, but suddenly the victim uploaded a photo of the perpetrator on WhatsApp. I asked if he was her boyfriend, she said, ’Yes, sis.’ I said, ‘Bring him home to meet us,’ and she replied, ‘Later, sis, we’re still busy,’’ Melanie recalled. Melanie confirmed the perpetrator did briefly meet the victim’s family. This moment occurred when the perpetrator and the victim were about to go to a concert. It was after this meeting that YTR disappeared. ‘One day she was indeed brought to the house for a short while, saying they wanted to go to a concert. She didn’t meet us, she met mum and the younger sibling. On Sunday we went to the house, and mum told the story. That was our last meeting with that girl,’ Melanie said. Melanie admitted she felt uncomfortable the first time she saw the figure of TH appear on YTR’s WhatsApp status. ‘I already had a bad feeling about that man from the start,’ she said.