Guatemalan's molestation case to proceed

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

At least seven witnesses in a sexual harassment case involving Guatemalan Alberto Mendizabal, 37, have been questioned so far, city police said on Tuesday.

The chief of the Jakarta Police's Women's and Children's Unit, Adj. Sr. Comr. Edi Tambunan, said the witnesses included three women who reported to the police that they had been molested by Mendizabal, the owner of a drug distribution company, and three employees of the company.

"Mendizabal is the sole suspect in the case. We are now preparing his case file. We expect to submit it soon to state prosecutors as we have all the evidence and witnesses we need," Edi said.

The three women who reported Mendizabal to the police had been hoping for jobs as salesgirls with a drug distribution company owned by Mendizabal's sister-in-law.

Mendizabal, hired by the drug distribution company to recruit young women to work as salesgirls, was arrested early last week at his home in Cinere, Depok, West Java, and has been in police detention since then.

Police said that according to the witnesses, Mendizabal had molested as many as 20 girls aged between 20 and 23 over a period of several months.

Mendizabal had reportedly told his victims that his drug distribution company required attractive salesgirls to market its products.

According to the three women, they were told to come to the suspect's house cum office in Cinere one day after they met Mendizabal, who promised to pay them good salaries.

The women were then invited one by one into a room, where they were told to take off all their clothes.

The girls said Mendizabal then touched their private parts that day. The girls were told to come back the next day, when they claim they were drugged and molested once again by the suspect.

Police said the suspect had been charged with sexual molestation under Articles 289 and 290 of the Criminal Code. If found guilty, the suspect could receive up to five years' imprisonment.

City police spokesman Sr. Comr. Tjiptono said that the police would hold Mendizabal until his case file was complete, and that he would then be handed over to the prosecutors.

"He is facing five years in jail if found guilty, so we are entitled detain him until we complete his case file," he said.

The police may detain a suspect if he or she faces a charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years and if they have reasonable grounds for believing that he may abscond, tamper with evidence, or attempt to influence witnesses.