Sadistic kidnappers still on the loose
Sadistic kidnappers still on the loose
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Police confirmed on Friday that the same gang was responsible for
at least three kidnappings in Pademangan, North Jakarta;
Cipayung, East Jakarta; and Cianjur, West Java.
They also said that the perpetrators were very clever and
slick, which made them quite dangerous.
Currently, the police are working on the assumption that the
motive for the kidnappings was money and extreme sexual
perversion.
"The kidnappers have a long criminal history. One thing is for
sure, they are sick people," said one detective, who spoke on
condition of anonymity.
The kidnapping gang is confirmed to have abducted, brutally
raped and killed a 23-month-old baby girl in March in Pademangan
and a nine-year-old girl in Cipayung earlier this month. All
after demanding a relatively large ransom from the victims'
parents and getting away with the money.
Currently, the gang have two girls from Cianjur and are
demanding a Rp 10 million (US$1,176) ransom.
According to the parents of the victims, the gang members
claimed that they had experience in abducting and killing
children, particularly in Muara Angke, West Jakarta; Sunter,
North Jakarta; Bogor and Tangerang.
However, the police declined to confirm whether or not the
gang was also involved in the kidnappings in those areas, saying
that they had no authority to comment on cases in other
precincts.
"There is a probability that there are more kidnapping cases,
but the parents did not report them to the police," said the
detective.
The police actually have a photograph and sketches of the
kidnappers, but they would not be published, as it might make
them panic, thus jeopardizing the lives of their hostages.
The kidnapping in Pademangan, which took place in March, was
the first that is believed to have been carried out by the
suspected gang this year.
The gang's method was first to win the trust of the victims
over a period of two to three months. The gang even rents a house
near the target family, and when the time comes, a gang member
will politely take the children for a walk, usually after asking
for the parents' permission.
First Insp. Santoso, the chief of detectives in Pademangan
subprecinct, had said earlier that the kidnappers in this case
identified themselves as Dani alias Deni Saputra, 21, and his
elder brother Jerry alias Jefry Saputra, 25.
Dani allegedly kidnapped the 23-month-old girl and demanded a
ransom of Rp 15 million. However, after a month in captivity and
the ransom paid, the child was found dead in Bogor. The baby girl
was brutally raped and murdered.
Earlier this month, Jerry was believed to have kidnapped a
nine-year-old girl in Cipayung, using a green Daihatsu Zebra
minivan. After the girl's parents paid the Rp 3.8 million ransom,
the girl was found dead in a cardboard box in Karawang, West
Java.
Second Insp. Hariyadi, chief of detectives in Cipayung police
subprecinct said that before the girl was murdered, she had also
been brutally raped and beaten.
In the Cianjur case, the suspects -- using the same green
minivan but with different license plates -- kidnapped three
girls and a boy earlier this week, and demanded Rp 15 million.
After the children's parents paid a ransom of Rp 5 million,
the boy and one of the girls were released. One was found tied up
and naked in a forest in Cileungsi, Bogor, and the other in a
soccer field in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta.
According to First Insp. Widodo, deputy chief of detectives in
Cianjur, as of last night, the other two children were still
being held by the kidnappers.
Media reports said that the victims usually lived in crowded
residential areas and did not come from wealthy families.
The reports also implied that the brothers were accompanied by
a woman and another young man. The perpetrators of three recent
kidnappings in Bogor and Tangerang between March and July were
also believed to be part of the gang.