Over the last few years, several horrific stories about women being sexually assaulted and murdered in Indonesia have set off alarm bells about the high levels of gender-based violence in the country. Another horrible incident might have taken place recently in Purbalingga, Central Java, had it not been for the fortunate intervention of a passing military officer.
First Sergeant Ratman was driving home last Friday afternoon and decided to take a detour along the Sirau-Siregol road that winds through a scenic pine forest.
He passed a hut that is sometimes used as a monitoring post by the military and saw there were two motorcycles parked in it. Suspicious, Ratman stopped to check the hut but saw nobody inside.
Ratman’s suspicions grew when he heard a disturbing noise from behind the hut. He hurried to check behind the hut. To his surprise, he found four men huddled around a young woman who was lying on the ground.
“I noticed her sandals, it was a woman. Without thinking I immediately ran and kicked some of them who were groping the girl,” Ratman said as quoted by Kompas.
According to the sergeant, one of the young men fell after being kicked while the other three stood up.
“I challenged them all to fight, but they just ran away. I did not pursue them because my first priority was to save the victim,” he said.
After all the young men had fled, Ratman tried to wake the victim who was lying prone on the ground. But when he tried to lift her, the 15-year-old victim could not even stand. Ratman said he smelled alcohol on her and said that the victim had allegedly been forced to drink beforehand.
Soon after, another local who was passing by found out what was happening and agreed to pursue the assailants while Ratman took the victim to the home of her relative in Kertanegara Village.
Karangmoncol Police Chief Purwanto said it did not take long for the police to arrest the four alleged perpetrators. He told the media the names of two of the suspects Andi Sutrisno (31) and Jerry Setyawan (18), while the other two were only identified by their initials as they are both under 18. They are currently in holding while the case is being investigated and it is not yet known what charges they may face.
Purwanto said the victim did indeed know some of the perpetrators. She was checked out at a hospital and police are still waiting for the results for their investigation.
The Karangmoncol police chief said it was not the first time such an incident had taken place in that location. In mid-July 2016, a 16-year-old had been raped by seven youths around the same place. Purwanto asked the public to be alert to young people in the area and to report any suspicious activity.
