Poulterer and wife to quit farm

BEKASI, West Java (JP): For Yanto Sugiyanto, manager of a poultry breeding farm in the village of Cimuning, Bekasi, West Java, robbery is a real nightmare.

On Jan. 30 a group of robbers broke into his house, sexually assaulted his wife and made off with 280 grams of jewelry and Rp 1 million.

Last Wednesday, just six months after, a group of robbers again broke into his house, stole Rp 2.5 million (US$1,000) and again sexually assaulted his 27-year-old wife. The second predawn robbery was like a reenactment of the incident in January. Some of the gang are even believed to be the same persons of the first group.

Of the five suspects in the first robbery, three were apprehended, with some of them being shot in the legs while trying to resist arrest.

"The robberies are a nightmare to us. They are disasters that my wife and I will not forget as long as we live," Yanto said.

"But the two damned incidents won't separate me from my wife by even an inch, nor will they change or ruin my love for her," the 34-year-old man told The Jakarta Post one day after the second robbery.

The gang of robbers, which consisted of at least five members, broke into the house at about 3 a.m., overpowered the workers and the couple, ransacked the house and, before leaving the scene, one or two of them sexually assaulted the woman.

The poultry breeding farm, belonging to a businessperson living in Jakarta, houses Yanto and his wife and some workers.

"When I'm alone, I automatically recall every single thing that I experienced in those two somber dawns which really hurt me," said Yanto.

The couple have found it difficult to come to terms with the robberies and assault, especially with the media exaggerating the events and claiming that Yanto's wife was raped both times by at least one of the robbers, Yanto claimed.

"According to medical reports in the first incident, there was no penetration. The sperm of the criminals was found only outside my wife's vagina," he said, denying that his wife was raped by the robbers.

The doctors' findings are in line with the police investigation, he added.

After Wednesday's robbery, his wife told him that she couldn't remember whether she was raped or not because she was unconscious when one of the robbers dragged her into the bathroom. He did not mention what she said about the January robbery.

"While we were still waiting for the medical reports, the media already reported that my wife was raped," Yanto said.

"The media has even falsely quoted me and my wife as saying that she was raped in front me," he said.

"How could I see what was going on in the bathroom if the robbers had me tied up facedown on the bed?" he asked.

"The reports have become a completely tragic story for us," said Yanto.

"I don't know precisely what's in the depths of the heart of my wife, but as a woman she must be more upset than me," said Yanto about his second wife. His first wife lives in a neighboring village in Bekasi.

"That is why," said Yanto, "I have to do all I can to help rebuild my wife's self-esteem.

"Everyday, I try hard -- without her acknowledgment -- to make her forget the tragedies," said Yanto.

"It's would be so inhumane for a man to ignore or even leave his wife who is a victim of sexual assault for the second time," he said.

Enemy

How could such a tragedy happen twice at the farmhouse?

"I have no idea. As far as I know, I've had no enemies in my whole life," said Yanto.

"I have no problems with my neighbors nor with my ex-workers," said Yanto. "My first wife, living in a nearby village, has a good relationship with my second wife and they often visit each other," he said.

The one-hectare farm, also home to about 20,000 chickens, is located in the small village of Cimuning at Bantargebang in the eastern part of Bekasi.

The farmhouse, which has electricity and a telephone, is about 50 meters away from the village's main street. At the rear, the farm is on the boundary of an ongoing 2,000-hectare housing estate project called Kota Legenda, which is being developed by PT Putra Alfita Pratama.

Rumors have it that the developer might be behind the two violent incidents in hope of securing the land for an extension plan. When asked to comment, Yanto said: "I don't see the possibility of it because this area does not belong to me and it is much smaller than the other plots closer to the housing complex."

A number of Yanto's neighbors told the Post that the price of land in the surrounding area ranges from Rp 100,000 to Rp 150,000 per square meter, about 10 times more than 10 years ago.

Located in the outskirts of Jakarta, Bekasi has become a haven for armed robbers, most of whom are repeat offenders, who often sexually assault their female victims.

Last year alone, at least five robbery-and-rape cases were reported.

"Sometimes, it's hard for us to sleep at night. We're traumatized by the tragic incidents," he said. "We're always afraid when midnight falls."

"We hope that the police arrest all the suspects soon. I really want to know their motives," he said.

"We've had enough. My wife and I have decided to leave this village at the first chance we get after the approval of my boss," Yanto said. (bsr)