State firm manager accused of rape

JAKARTA (JP): A woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted by her boss several times since 1992 has taken her case to the Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation (YLBHI).

The 24-year-old woman, identified as S, is an elementary- school graduate who hails from Salatiga, Central Java. She first revealed her case to reporters at city police headquarters on Wednesday before going to the YLBHI for legal advice.

"It seems police have delayed looking into her case long enough. They are quick to follow up cases of expatriates or the rich, but they appear slow in handling cases of the poor. All people must be treated equally before the law" Luhut Pangaribuan, director of the Jakarta chapter of the YLBHI, said.

The woman's boss, identified as CS, is reportedly the manager of a state-owned storehouse company under the Ministry of Trade. In addition to this position, CS reportedly ran two food-catering houses, one in Klender and one in Pulogadung, both in East Jakarta. CS was said to have employed several women as cooks in those facilities, including S.

She claims that she was raped sometime in 1992, several days prior the Islamic holiday of Idul Fitri, at CS's catering hall in Pulogadung. She said that, at the time of the rape, she was alone with CS because her fellow cooks had gone shopping in preparation for Idul Fitri.

The woman later reported the incident to her mother. However, the woman said that her mother was reluctant to help her settle the case through legal channels, since CS is reportedly a distant relative. Reportedly, the mother was also afraid because her son worked at PT Bhanda Ghara Reksa and might lose his job if charges were filed.

After the first incident, CS allegedly tried to rape her again on at least five separate occasions, with the most recent assault taking place early this year.

The woman finally tried to bring the case to the authorities in June because of the urging her friend Soegito, a driver of PT Bhanda Ghara Reksa, who accompanied her yesterday.

Soegito said he became suspicious after CS, his boss, kept urging him to marry S. When he pressed S for the reason, she told him that her boss had raped her.

Accompanied by Soegito, the woman reported her case to East Jakarta police on June 26. Much to her shock and dismay, the police threw out the charge and accused her of defaming CS.

It is also reported that CS had once offered Rp 20 million in "compensation" but the woman's mother rejected it. (jsk)