I

n the wake of a public outcry over their belated response to gang rapes in Gorontalo and North Sulawesi, the police in both provinces have only now started talking about their investigations into the brutal sexual assault cases.

The gang rapes in Gorontalo and Manado only made headlines a few days after the gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl in Bengkulu. The Bengkulu case occurred in early April and attracted nationwide concern not only because of the brutality of the crime, but also because of the limited exposure of the case and the belated response of the police.

The Gorontalo Police said they were investigating the alleged involvement of two of their personnel in the extended sexual abuse of a 19-year-old girl, identified as STC, from Manado, North Sulawesi. The investigation is being carried out by the Gorontalo Police’s internal affairs division.

Gorontalo Police spokesman Adj. Sr. Comr. Bagus Santoso said his side had sent a team to North Sulawesi to better understand the chronology of the rape case. According to him, the alleged involvement of the Gorontalo Police officers was based on the victim’s testimony.

“Based on provisional information, two of our members were involved, but only in reserving the hotel. Their identities have not yet been uncovered because the victim did not know their names,” Bagus told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The gang rapes were allegedly committed in three different places, namely in Gorontalo and in Bolangitang and Manado, North Sulawesi.

Information regarding the case is still hazy, with the number of perpetrators reportedly between 14 and 19 persons. The victim said she was taken to Gorontalo by her two friends, identified as Y and M, in January.

Upon their arrival in Gorontalo, two men picked them up and took them to a cheap hotel in downtown Gorontalo City. Four other men were in the room when they arrived at the hotel. The victim said a crystal methamphetamine pipe was inside the hotel room.

As they made noises at the hotel, they later decided to move to another hotel, still in Gorontalo City. By then, according to Bagus, STC was already intoxicated with drugs.

The case was first reported by the victim’s family to the Manado Police on Jan. 30 this year. The case was later handed over to the North Sulawesi Police on Feb. 16.

As of now, the Gorontalo Police said the North Sulawesi Police had not yet handed over the case to them.

In Manado, the North Sulawesi Police’s detective chief for general crimes, Sr. Comr. Pitra Ratulangi, dismissed the allegations of gang rape as widely reported on social media and in the mass media. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Pitra said the results of an examination conducted by a medical specialist on STC did not find any signs of rape.

In regards to the chronology of the alleged rape, Pitra said when the victims and the entourage were about to move to another hotel in Gorontalo, STC refused to do so, and her friends Y and M pulled her hand by force to leave the hotel. This action left bruises on her wrist.

“According to the medical specialist, there were indeed signs of violence on her wrist and traces of old wounds around her genitals,” Pitra said.

He said the case was being handled by investigators from both the North Sulawesi Police and the Gorontalo Police.

“The alleged involvement of the two police officers cannot be proven as yet,” said Pitra.