A 21-year-old man identified as IKW was arrested by the South Denpasar Police on suspicion of having grabbed several women’s breasts on the streets of Denpasar and Gianyar.
South Denpasar Police Chief Comr. I Gede Sudyatmaja said that there were three women who reported that a man driving a motorcycle groped their breasts and buttocks on Jalan By Pass Ngurah Rai in Sanur on Feb. 24.
The victims were 24-year-old NKI and 25-year-old NKR, who are both from Gianyar, as well as NKT, 25, from Bangli.
Each woman was driving their own motorcycle heading to work when the incident happened.
“The suspect chased [each] victim’s motorcycle from behind and groped [them],” Gede said.
The victims were, understandably so, traumatized by IKW’s actions. He was apprehended by the officers of the South Denpasar Police at his kosan (boarding home). IKW’s black Yamaha N-Max, a 155-cc automatic motorcycle popular on the island, was immediately confiscated.
Local outlets reported that the suspect was a student at a local university. Preliminary investigations showed that IKW, who immediately confessed to his crimes, had repeated the sexual harassment act in at least 17 different locations on the island.
“He usually committed his actions around 5 and 5.30am,” Gede added.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to replace a word that can be insensitive towards victims of sexual harassment.
