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Police release alleged harasser of female motorist as victim declines to prosecute
Deputy Bekasi City Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eka Mulayana said he had asked the victim to make a report but she declined to press charges.
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Illustration of sexual abuse (Shutterstock/File)
T
he victim of alleged sexual harassment that occurred at Bekasi Square traffic intersection in Bekasi, West Java, has decided not to file a police report even though the police have arrested a suspect.
Deputy Bekasi City Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Eka Mulayana said he had asked the victim to make a report but she declined to press charges.
“We have questioned both the suspect and the victim. The victim decided not to proceed with the indictment,” said Eka on Saturday, as quoted by kompas.com.
Bekasi Police learned of the incident after a video went viral on social media apparently showing a female motorist being verbally abused in Bekasi. Police then conducted an investigation to assess whether anything criminal had taken place.
Eka said investigators only had the information from social media regarding the alleged harassment to go on.
“We only had information from third parties, meaning the social media users. We could only dig up what we saw in the video,” he said.
However, the police apprehended the alleged perpetrator, Teguh Setia Putra, 37, at his residence in South Bekasi on Friday evening. According to police Teguh admitted his wrongdoing, claiming his outburst was the result of frustration, Eka said.
“We asked why he behaved as he did and he said he was in a difficult situation at the time as he was unable to pay for his mother’s medical expenses. Reaching the red light, he saw the girl and spontaneously expressed some inappropriate words,” said Eka.
As the victim chose not to continue the case, for undisclosed reasons, the police bound over Teguh not to reoffend.
Nevertheless, Eka said that he still urged anyone who experienced a similar incident to immediately file a report to the police.
“We are open for any other victim. Please report the case so we are able to follow up through better investigation,” he said. (syk)
