Police order officers accused of harassment

I Wayan Juniartha, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar

Four girls questioned by the police here Friday supported their friend's earlier allegation that the head of Denpasar public order officer had harassed them sexually in a recent raid on residents' identity cards.

Lilis Fatimah, Ida Wayiyah, Sri Indahyani and Yulia Berliani who lived in a rented house in Denpasar were rounded up by the city public order officers together with their two other friends Elly Pujiati and Sandra Desiana for not possessing city residential identity cards.

Elly, 24, who like all her friends hailed from West Java, reported her case to the police early on Wednesday.

Police have summoned the head Public Order Office Anak Agung Ngurah Gede Astawa and his staff Gede Eka Sucita for questioning at the city police headquarters on Monday.

Elly's formal complaint stated that several public order conducted a raid on residents' identity cards in Pulau Indah street, where Elly and her friends lived.

Having no Denpasar resident identity cards, the officers rounded them up and sent them to the Office's building at Cempaka street.

On the pretext of verifying body tattoos or hiding illegal drugs on their body, Astawa and two other officers, ordered the girls to enter a room one by one at 11:00 at night.

"In the room they asked me to take off my outer garments, and when I did it they later asked me to take off my bra and underwear, which I vehemently refused to do. They then asked me to stretch and flip my bra, and later my underwear, so they would be able to see what inside it, to make sure that I did not stash anything illegal inside it, they said," Elly told the police Wednesday.

Elly, who was released at the same night, filed a complaint to the police the next morning.

The Forum Perempuan Mitra Kasih Bali, a women activists non- government-organization, issued a statement on Friday condemning the action of the public order officers and called for strong legal action against them.

Ngurah Gede Astawa said he and his men only wanted to make sure that the girls did not carry any drugs and that it was the girls who voluntarily took off their clothes.

Puspayoga, Astawa's superior who is the Mayor of Denpasar said that the girls' complaints were the risks his men had to face in their job.

"They were only doing their jobs to uphold the local law on identity cards raid. On the sexual harassment issue, I left it completely to the hand of the police," he said.

The Denpasar police vowed to thoroughly investigate the case.

"The fact that the case involves a high-ranking government official will not, in any way, hamper our investigation. We are committed to seriously, and thoroughly, examine this case," Denpasar police detectives chief Commissioner Budi Wasono said Friday.