Woman arrested for false rape report
Woman arrested for false rape report
JAKARTA (JP): Bekasi police yesterday arrested a 35-year-old woman for reporting -- allegedly falsely -- to the local police that she had been robbed and raped at her house in the early hours of March 10.
City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said here that the suspect, Siti Aminah, was arrested at her house yesterday afternoon for failing to give proper explanations during reconstruction and police questioning.
"We've been suspicious of her from the beginning due to her alibi, and the late report to the police," said Bekasi Police Chief Lt. Col. Elfrizo Tobing, who was with Iman yesterday.
Aminah lives in Kampung Sungailahang in the Pantai Harapan Jaya village of the Muaragembong district, about 60 kilometers north of downtown Bekasi.
The suspect's current husband, Ijo, 40, is a security guard.
"She admitted making up the story because she was distressed about her former husband, who died of an illness," spokesman Iman said.
Tobing said Aminah also said that she planned her story because she was fed up with her new husband, who she said rarely gave her money and frequently did not come home.
After getting married to Ijo six months ago, Aminah sold property from her former marriage to Abu Bakar Bedu to buy a small house where they now live.
Preliminary police investigations said that Aminah tied herself up with a rope after arranging her appearance. She then screamed for help, claiming to have just been robbed and raped.
When her neighbors came to release her, Aminah said that a group of three people had come to the house, taking 50 grams of gold jewelry and raping her, Iman said.
Medical test
However, the woman refused to take a medical examination when she was brought to a nearby clinic, the spokesman said.
A number of witnesses, including the village head, found several contradictions in her report to the results of an examination her body and the scene of crime, officer Tobing said.
Iman quoted Sarjan, one of the suspect's neighbors, as saying that after being released from her ropes, Aminah went to her bathroom and apparently poured viscous tamarind juice on her genitals to give the impression that she had been raped.
If found guilty, Aminah faces a maximum of seven years in jail.
Aminah reported the case to the police five days after the reported incident, which received wide coverage. The local police also set up a team to arrest the suspects.
"A few days after Aminah's report, we arrested three men we thought were stealing goats near her house," Tobing said. "But there were no clues as to whether they were involved in the robbery and rape case at Aminah's house," he added. (bsr)