Students fired for rape

DENPASAR, Bali (JP): Three students were dismissed from a private high school after the police charged them with the raping a young woman.

"The school's decision to dismiss the three students can be justified as a form of punishment," Lt. Col. Lalu Budiardja, spokesman for the local police, was quoted by the Antara news agency as saying on Monday.

Lalu said the three students, identified only as Pri, Sud, and Su, together with four other young men raped Ni Luh SD on the night of Nov. 11 accompanying her watching a night fair.

Nengah Sudra, chairman of the school's foundation, said the dismissal of the three students was meant to maintain the school's good reputation. They have often violated the school's regulations, he added.(imn)