Poulterer and wife to quit farm

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)