Indonesia airport security officers allegedly rape Chinese tourist

SCREENGRAB from www.jakartaairportonline.com.

TANGERANG—Two security officers from state-owned airport operator PT Angkasa Pura II have been named as suspects in the alleged rape of a female Chinese tourist in a hotel room near Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten.

Soekarno-Hatta International Airport Police detective unit chief Adj. Comr. Azhari Kurniawan announced the allegations on Friday, citing officers with the initials of R and B as the suspected culprits in the case.

“R and B have admitted that they were involved in the wrongdoing and have been named as suspects. But the police have not yet detained the two,” Azhari said on Friday.

The suspects may be charged with Article 285 of the Criminal Code on forcing sexual intercourse with a woman, with a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison.

According to the police, a Chinese tourist identified as ZZ was found crying in the airport’s Terminal 1C, serving domestic departures, on Tuesday afternoon. Without proper translation, ZZ, who only spoke Mandarin, explained to the local police that she had just fallen victim to what they interpreted as rape.

Through gesture, she implied she had been sedated and taken to a nearby hotel. She claimed that she was held in the hotel room for two days and was raped by two men.

When the police asked her about the culprits, ZZ pointed out officers wearing Aviation Security (Avsec) uniforms, implying that the culprits were security officers.

The police later contacted the Chinese Embassy in Jakarta and took ZZ to the embassy.

The police have begun investigations into the case and have reviewed airport CCTV footage, which indicated that the two men took ZZ to the Pop! Hotel on Jl. Raya Bandara No. 106, Rawa Bokor, Benda, Tangerang, in a taxi.

The three checked in to Room 617 at 2 am on Tuesday. According to the hotel, the room was reserved under R’s name. Azhari said the two men admitted that they had intercourse with the female tourist after helping her to find a hotel.

“They were just pretending they wanted to help. But they already had bad intentions,” he said.

Azhari acknowledged that investigators faced challenges in digging deeper into the case, as the plaintiff had returned to China.

However, he said that “the police will continue to communicate with the Chinese Embassy to be able to question the victim.”

Despite the ongoing investigation, PT Angkasa Pura II has issued an apology over the incident.

“We are particularly concerned about this incident. We will comply with the legal process and we are ready to cooperate with the police in this investigation,” Soekarno-Hatta airport spokesman Yudis Tiawan said, adding that, “we apologise to the public for the inconvenience.”

Yudis pointed out that the company would follow up on the incident in accordance with its regulations, while considering the principle of the presumption of innocence.

In an official statement issued on Friday, PT Angkasa Pura II said that it had temporarily suspended R and B to ensure the investigation went smoothly.

According to Yudis, the two men were an acting officer and a supervisor in the aviation security department.

He also pledged that the company would tighten up procedures and intensify briefings for all employees as preemptive measures.

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