Suspects arrested for gang rape

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta Police detectives have arrested two casual public minivan drivers suspected of raping a mute and nearly deaf girl, Chief Warrant Officer Purwani said on Friday.

"The first suspect, Joko, was arrested on Thursday morning, while the second, Yanto, was arrested later in the night.

"They are the (alleged) rapists of Ti," the policewoman said.

Joko was arrested together with his friends, Jeffrey and Harahap, who were later named as witnesses.

"Jeffrey and Harahap served as good witnesses, even if they are the close friends of the accused," Purwani said.

Officer Purwani said, Ti, the younger of two daughters in her family, left her home in Cikarang, Bekasi, after a misunderstanding with her father. She said she was allegedly raped on Monday by the two men near the entrance gate of the Taman Mini toll road in East Jakarta and behind an empty house on Jl. Saraswati in South Jakarta.

She said that Joko and Yanto first saw the 20-year-old girl standing at a bus stop near the Cilandak-Trakindo intersection.

"They bought food for her. The three then hitched a ride on a passing truck and got off at the Taman Mini toll road," she said.

By chance, the victim's brother, Surni, spotted his sister later when she was being dragged by Joko onto a bus near Jl. Saraswati.

The school boy told his uncle, who found Ti sitting in a small food stall at the end of Jl. Saraswati.

The girl told what happened with hand gestures. (ylt)