Police arrest man for abusing minors

Indah Setiawati ,  The Jakarta Post ,  Denpasar   |  Fri, 02/13/2009 6:24 PM  |  Bali

Denpasar Police chief Comr. Alit Widana made a surprising announcement Thursday, informing the press that KS, a suspect in an alleged sexual abuse case involving minors, had been in the police custody since Tuesday and was officially named a suspect Wednesday.

As recent as Wednesday, the senior officer said the police would soon summon KS, implying that the person had not even been questioned yet, let alone be declared a suspect and detained.

Widana did not give any clarification on this matter and left reporters after providing details on the arrest.

"We have named him a suspect," he said.

KS, 46, was finally arrested at his hiding place on Jl. Tukad Bilok, Renon, on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m., after the officers failed to locate him at his house in Sanur.

So far the investigating officers have interviewed six victims, including a twelve-year-old girl, who is still a student at a local primary school.

"We are still trying to look for more victims, but it is a bit difficult for us now because they must have read the case in the media and are too ashamed to come forward," Widana said.

He said there was no indication that the case involved child trafficking because the current investigation showed that the suspect abused and manipulated the victims for his own pleasure. "He *the suspect* told the officers that he began the action in 2005."

He said the arrest process was lawful as his officers were equipped with a legal letter he had signed, saying that it would prevent an attempt to drop the case due to improper arrest.

Two under-age girls and their parents filed a report to the police over the weekend after the two girls testified that they were drugged by the suspect and woke up naked later in a hotel in Ubung.

Previously, the girls ran away from their homes for 13 days in fear of being censured by their parents for arriving home late.

The two victims testified that KS, who often showered them with money and mobile phone credits as well as lending them motorbikes, provided a boarding room in Sanur where many other under-aged girls took shelter.

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