0 Assaulted Girl’s Neighbor Detained

The police have detained one person in Parung, Bogor, who is believed to have sexually assaulted an 11-year-old girl who later died of infection. “He used to be the victim’s neighbor and his family’s house is in Parung,” East Jakarta Police Chief Sr. Comr. Mulyadi Kaharni said on Tuesday. But Mulyadi said the neighbor was considered only a witness at this stage. He was taken to the East Jakarta Police station at 1 a.m. on Tuesday, Mulyadi said, and was still being interrogated late in the day. 

Mulyadi said police will continue to investigate the case and will question more people, saying that small clues would be helpful in solving the case. Mulyadi also said police have seized several items from the neighbor’s house to be taken to a forensic laboratory. But he declined to disclose what items were taken from the house. Mulyadi previously said that police have identified five people as potential suspects for allegedly sexually abusing the girl. The police narrowed the potential suspects to five people after questioning 16 witnesses, which included family members and neighbors, he added. 

“The witnesses were comprised of family members: father, mother, siblings, brother in law and neighbors. Out of that number, it was narrowed down to the suspects,” Mulyadi told reporters on Monday. Mulyadi said the potential suspects lived in the girl’s neighborhood. “They are from the neighborhood,” he said. Mulyadi said they were still waiting for doctors’ reports from Persahabatan Hospital and the autopsy result from Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital, adding that the results will be used as reference to develop the investigation. “The doctors’ and autopsy reports are to be used only for investigative purposes. 

Regarding how it happened, they are not for public consumption. Whatever outcome may emerge from the doctors’ and autopsy reports, the police will still work on it because it was an unnatural death,” said Mulyadi. He said that Persahabatan Hospital had taken samples from the victim’s organs, including her reproductive organs. “It’s related to whether or not there was any trace of sexual assault. We will link it to that if the trace is found. But the doctors’ and autopsy reports are still not out yet.” 

Mulyadi hoped police would be able to solve the case with the existing clues. The fifth-grader was found to have extensive rectal and vaginal injuries when she was taken to the hospital late last month after suffering from acute seizures. She was placed in intensive care on Dec. 29, but her condition continued to deteriorate and she fell into a coma shortly before passing away on Sunday. Emma Nurhaema, a pediatrician treating the victim, said that the 11-year-old had been suffering from a brain infection, which could have been caused by the injuries to her vaginal area.

source : the jakarta globe