Housewife gang raped by 17 men

KUPANG, East Nusa Tenggara: A 20-year-old housewife reported to the police that 17 male neighbors raped her in three separate incidents on Tuesday night, Antara said.

Accompanied by her husband, the woman, identified only as DT, said she was first raped by six men in a house in the Lasiana area. Then, she was raped by seven men, and finally by four men in yet another spot.

The woman was taken to Prof. W.Z. Johannes Hospital before she went to the police. "I know them all, they are our neighbors in Lasiana," the husband said.

Chief of detectives at the police station, First Lt. Sugeng Haryanto, confirmed the report and said his team had arrested two suspects by the name of Ari Yefta, 20, and Nicodemus Ndun, 40.

Ari admitted the rape to Antara and said he committed the rape with five friends, but he said he knew nothing about the second and third reported gang rapes.

"We threatened her with a knife," he said.

The second suspect, Nicodemus, was said to have served time for raping a minor. But he denied the alleged rape of DT and said he had been detained arbitrarily.

Ari, a public transportation driver, said he took DT from the Pasir Panjang area to Lasiana, some seven kilometers away, in his vehicle. He took her to the house of a friend, Ayub, where four other men suddenly appeared and took part in the crime.

Afterward, a group of seven men arrived and took the victim to another place. The last group of four men took her to yet another place, the news agency said.

The victim later sought help from a neighbor. (swe)