Three daughters raped, 10 children sodomized

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Many may well be asking what has gone wrong with Indonesian society following reports of the rape of three girls by their father on the North Sumatra island of Nias and the sodomizing of ten underage children by a construction worker in Yogyakarta.

Women's activist Maya Manuring called on the police to fully investigate the rape case and bring the rapist to justice.

"The court should impose the harshest possible penalties on this rapist to set an example both for him and others," Antara quoted her as saying in Medan, the capital of North Sumatra, over the weekend.

Maya, a coordinator with the North Sumatra Women Rights Organization, expressed her deep concern over the rapes, saying: "There is something wrong with the society we are living in this reform era when a father can rape his own daughters -- girls of between 14 and 19."

"He should have been protecting his daughters after having separated from his wife instead of raping them,"

News of the rapes only came to light recently after one of the victims confided in Maya, who later reported the case to the police.

The rapes occurred in 2001 after the 55-year-old father, identified as SZ, was separated from his wife in their village in Sifalaete, Gunung Sitoli.

Maya added that given the prevalence of such incest cases, she feared that the nation's morals were becoming debased.

Meanwhile, police in Berbah district, Yogyakarta, are still questioning 17-year-old Waryadi alias Gerandong, who has admitted sodomizing ten children, three of them girls. He admitted to a total of 52 sodomy offenses since last October.

Brebah Police detective, Second Adj. Insp. Sutarto, told The Jakarta Post here on Saturday that the offenses came to light last Thursday after one of the victims complained to his parents who later filed a complaint with the village authorities.

"The suspect has admitted his wrongdoing. All of the victims are children of his neighbors. We are waiting for the results of the medical examinations being conducted at the hospital on the victims," he said.

Waryadi claimed that he started molesting the children after watching pornographic films in neighbors' homes and reading pornographic magazines.