"We released the 18 men after the victim said that they were not involved in abducting and torturing her," West Jakarta police chief detective Adj Sr Comr Hengki Haryadi said on Monday.

He said that the victim had misidentified the men as her captors because they frequently hung out at a shack near the Kedoya Apartments in Kebon Jeruk where she was held.

"Based on our investigation, we found that the 18 men were not guilty. Only one suspect, identified only as Fr, was found guilty of abducting and torturing the victim," he said.

He added that their investigation also revealed that Fr abducted and tortured the victim with two accomplices, identified only as Sd and Hn, who were still at large.

"Previously, Sd spent five years in prison for abducting a child to force his parents to pay their debts in 2003," he said.

The victim was abducted by members of the Florinese street gang from her kiosk in Kebon Jeruk to the shack at 3 p.m. on Friday after she refused to pay them protection money. She was subjected to various forms of torture during the abduction until she managed to flee her captors at 2 a.m. on Sunday and filed a report with the police.

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