North Maluku Police Rape Teenage Girls, House Of Representatives Commission III: Very Barbaric

JAKARTA - Member of Commission III of the Indonesian House of Representatives, Sari Yuliati, believes that it is appropriate that police officers who are suspected of raping a 16-year-old girl in North Maluku should be punished and fired from the police institution.

"It is a despicable act that is very barbaric. Moreover, the victim is a minor and the perpetrator is a police officer who is supposed to protect the community", said Sari Yuliati, in a written statement received by reporters in Mataram, reported by Antara, Thursday, June 24.

This member of the Indonesian House of Representatives from the West Nusa Tenggara 2 District of Lombok Island, assessed that the actions of these police officers had tarnished the good name of the Police. Moreover, the incident took place at a police station in North Halmahera, North Maluku.

The incident started when the victim and her friend visited Sessionoli last week. Since it was late at night, the two decided to stay the night. However, for no apparent reason, the two were taken by police officers to the police station using a patrol car.

Arriving at the South Jailolo Police, the victim and his friend were examined in a separate room. During the examination, one of the victims was allegedly sexually assaulted by Brigadier II. If they do not comply, the victim is threatened with imprisonment.

Therefore, this House of Representatives member asked for the case to be thoroughly investigated according to the applicable legal process. He also appreciated the steps taken by the North Maluku Police investigators who had examined the witnesses and had reconstructed the case.

Shortly, the case file (BP) of cases suspected of violating Article 76D of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection will be transferred to the prosecutor's office. The police will apply Articles 80, 81 of the Child Protection Law Number 35 of 2014, with a maximum penalty of 15 years.

In addition to the maximum sentence that must be received by the perpetrators, Sari Yuliati also asked that the suspect be fired for violating the police code of ethics.

"Fire, the law is severe, Commission III will oversee this case", said Sari Yuliati.

Sari further emphasized that the perpetrators should be given the harshest punishment because as police officers, they should protect and protect the community.

"The law is severe and must be able to cause a deterrent effect for the perpetrators or anyone who tries to think about it, let alone repeat the act", she said.

For victims, Sari also asked for maximum attention and protection. He reminded of the effects of trauma due to sexual violence that can be experienced by victims for the rest of their lives.

"We also ask Komnas HAM and KPAI as well as LPSK (Witness and Victim Protection Agency) to closely monitor the development of the victim's soul", said Sari again.

Sari also called for the National Police to actively guide their members, to realize a Police that is Precision (Predictive, Responsibilities, and Transparency with justice).

"In the midst of the National Police institution which is trying hard to improve the image of the police as well as possible, what these individuals have done is destroying it. Therefore, the perpetrators must be fired and punished severely. This should not reduce public confidence in the Police again", she said.