Aussie victim identifies suspect through email

An Australian woman whose holiday in Bali was abruptly cut short by a violent attempted rape has identified the suspect after browsing dozens of photographs emailed to her by the South Denpasar Police.

The positive identification of a local motorcycle taxi driver led to the arrest of the suspect, who later confessed that the Australian woman was not his first victim.

The suspect was identified as I Wayan Kirnawan aka Pogot, 36, an unregistered motorcycle taxi driver. He was arrested on Monday, Dec. 5, in Pemogan but the police waited until Sunday, Dec. 11 before releasing any information to the public.

“He usually offers his service to foreign visitors in Kuta,” South Denpasar Police chief Adj. Comr. Leo Martin Pasaribu said.

The victim was identified as 24-year-old Brooke Hall, a resident of New South Wales. The incident took place at Dec. 2 at around 1 a.m. local time.

The victim had just left a Legian nightclub when the suspect approached her and offered her his motorcycle taxi (ojek) services.

The victim agreed and told the suspect to take her to Padma Hotel, where she was staying during her holiday.

The victim became suspicious when the suspect took her to a different place, later identified as the mangrove forest in Suwung, South Denpasar.

Fearing for her safety, the victim jumped off the motorcycle and ran away. The suspect chased and later assaulted her.

He tried to rape the victim but the latter defended herself and managed to escape.

The suspect, however, took her purse and made away with a digital camera and cash.

The victim immediately filed a police report before leaving the island for Australia.

Responding to the report, the South Denpasar Police launched a massive intelligence operation to find the perpetrator.

Plainclothes officers were sent to numerous places known as motorcycle taxi terminals and popular hangouts for ojek drivers.  

The officers succeeded in not only collecting the personal data of the drivers but also in photographing their faces.

Toward the end of the operation, the police had in their possession the pictures of 72 registered and 23 unregistered drivers.

“Since the victim had returned to Australia, we emailed all these pictures to her. The electronic correspondence gave us a valuable result when she identified one of the pictures as the picture of the suspect,” Leo said, adding that his men immediately cast a net to arrest
the man.

During the interrogation, the suspect confessed that he had committed a similar crime on Sept. 24 at around 3 a.m. when he assaulted and tried to rape Beatrice Victoria Hendricks McGuinness, a Singaporean residing in Australia.  

The victim fought back and the suspect only got away with her bag.

The police will charge the suspect under articles 365, 285 and 53 of the Criminal Code on violence, theft and attempted rape. If found guilty, he could face a maximum sentence of 13 years in prison.

The suspect expressed remorse over his behavior, claiming that he was drunk at the time and that he desperately needed cash to pay off his gambling debts.