'Ojek' driver tried for rapes

JAKARTA (JP): An ojek (motorcycle taxi) driver was indicted at the Central Jakarta District Court yesterday for raping four minor girls.

Prosecutor Rosmanida said the 23-year-old defendant, Saptanius, sexually abused the girls aged between five and eight in his house on Jl. Gang Kingkit, Kebon Kelapa, Central Jakarta between 1995 and March this year.

"The defendant had sex with the girls. He knew that the girls were minors or under 15," Rosmanida said.

She said Saptanius asked one of his victims, identified only as Nur, to enter his house on March 23, saying that he had a package for Nur's mother.

The defendant then raped the eight-year old girl after putting some tissues into the girl's mouth so that she could not scream, she said.

After he was through, Saptanius gave the girl Rp 1,000 upon seeing the girl cried in pain, she said. The defendant told the victim not to tell her mother about what had happened.

But the victim then told her mother what happened when the mother asked her why she was crying, she said.

According to Rosmanida, the defendant had raped three other minor girls, identified only as Ya, Sel and Met, in his house with a similar tactic.

She charged the defendant under Article 287 (1) of the Criminal Code which carries a maximum penalty of nine years in jail.

One of the victims who was presented at the court cried when she saw the defendant.

"She is still traumatized with the assault," one of her relatives said. The victim was always in her mother's arms during the trial.

Presiding judge Endang Sumarsih adjourned the trial until next week to hear witnesses' testimonies. (jun)