A member of the Regional Representatives Council (DPD) from North Sulawesi, Stefanus BAN Liow, has called on the North Sulawesi Police to thoroughly investigate the alleged rape of a 19-year-old woman from Manado, North Sulawesi.

“I call on relevant parties, including the North Sulawesi Police, to thoroughly investigate the case without prejudice. This must be thoroughly investigated,” said Liow.  

Liow, who is on the council’s commission dealing with violence against women, said regardless of the backgrounds of those involved in the rape case, be they police officers or not, supremacy of the law must be upheld.

“The rape, allegedly perpetrated by more than a dozen men, has brought shame to our province. North Sulawesi has become well-known on the national level because of this case,” said Stefanus.

As earlier reported, allegations of rape by the 19-year-old have been brought into question after a woman, identified only as Yuyun, was questioned as a witness and claimed that no rape occurred.

“I spent four days with [the woman]. There was no rape. If there was, I also must have been a victim because I was constantly with her,” said Yuyun on Wednesday.

Yuyun explained that the January incident began when a woman, identified only as Memey, invited her and the 19-year-old to go to Gorontalo by car. On Jan.24, the latter was picked up from her workplace in Manado, North Sulawesi. In a hotel in Bolangitang, North Bolaang Mongondouw regency, three men joined her and Yuyun. “In the hotel, we consumed shabu-shabu [crystal methamphetamine],” said Yuyun.

She claimed that several men were with them, but there was no rape attempt. She claimed that the 19-year-old consumed a lot of crystal meth, which may have made her hallucinate the alleged gang rape.

Women’s rights group LSM Swara Parangpuan condemned the slow and nontransparent investigation into the rape case. “We are really disappointed. The case occurred in January and it was reported to the police the same month. After a few months, there has been no progress in the investigation,” said Nurhasanah from LSM Swara Parangpuan’s database division.

Nurhasanah said her group always campaigned against violence against women in North Sulawesi. “However, neither the government nor security officers care about the situation. The state should show its presence to give citizens a sense of security,” she said, adding that LSM Swara Parangpuan condemned the recent alleged rape.

The alleged rape of the 19-year Manado girl has drawn the attention of various elements of society, particularly women lawmakers in the North Sulawesi Legislative Council. They have voiced support for the government’s plan to impose tough measures against sex offenders, including chemical castration, one of punishments proposed in a government regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on sexual violence currently under deliberation.

“We are observing the brutal rape of a girl from Manado, allegedly perpetrated by 19 men. We, as female legislators, fully support the notion that sex crime perpetrators must be punished as severely as possible. They should be handed the death sentence if necessary because they slowly kill a victim by their actions,” said female legislators Netty Pantouw and Lucia Taroreh.

North Sulawesi Governor Olly Dondokambey said he condoned the Perppu. “Yes, they must be chemically castrated if necessary. We must make sure that sex crime perpetrators face tough punishment,” he told journalists in a recent plenary meeting at the North Sulawesi Legislative Council.

Olly further said that sexual violence, including rape, was not part of the North Sulawesi culture. “They commit such crimes because they are under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” he said. (ebf)

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