House Deputy Speaker Urges LPSK to Immediately Protect Bandung Kidnapping and Torture Victim

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives’ Commission XIII, Sugiat Santoso, has urged the state, through the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), the National Commission on Human Rights (Komnas HAM), and the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), to immediately provide direct protection to YTR, a female victim of kidnapping, confinement, and torture over a three-year period in Bandung, West Java. He strongly condemned the perpetrator’s heinous acts and stressed that the state’s presence must be genuinely felt by the victim, who suffered brutal treatment. “The victim must receive her full rights, including protection, recovery, and legal assistance, until justice is served,” Sugiat stated in Jakarta on Monday. He also encouraged LPSK to promptly conduct an investigation and coordinate with law enforcement to provide legal support for YTR, emphasising that victim protection agencies must be proactive given the victim’s vulnerable position. “Coordination with law enforcement must be prioritised to ensure the legal process favours the victim,” he added. Sugiat further urged law enforcement to immediately apprehend the suspect, identified by the initials TH, asserting that the state must ensure there is no safe haven for criminals to hide. The West Java Regional Police are currently pursuing TH, who is suspected of confining and abusing his girlfriend, YTR (29), for approximately three years in Cileunyi District, Bandung Regency. The Director of Women and Children Protection and Human Trafficking Crime at the West Java Police, Commissioner Rumi Untari, confirmed that investigators are still hunting for the suspect, who has yet to be detained.