JAKARTA: Allegations of police officers sexually assaulting rape victims during questioning in East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) have triggered widespread outrage, with lawmakers calling the incident a sign of systemic failure in police training and oversight.
A 25-year-old woman, identified as MML, has accused an officer from the South Wewewa Police in Southwest Sumba Regency, West Nusa Tenggara, of sexually assaulting her while she was in the process of reporting a rape.
The alleged assault took place on March 2 at the South Wewewa Police Station, a day after she initially reported the case.
According to MML, the officer identified as Second Adj. Insp. PS, picked her up from her home and took her to the station, saying he needed to take an additional statement.
Once at the station, PS allegedly took her to a room, stripped her and touched her inappropriately under the pretense of conducting a physical examination.
MML recently shared her story on social media, where it quickly went viral and sparked widespread public outrage.
Sarifuddin Sudding, a member of the House of Representatives Commission III overseeing law enforcement, described the incident as a profound failure of the legal system to deliver justice.
“A citizen went to the police to report a sexual assault, but instead of being protected, she was victimised a second time by the very people meant to protect her,” Sarifuddin said on Tuesday, as quoted by Kompas.
“Police stations should be the safest places for citizens. When a police station becomes the site of a sexual assault, it threatens the very foundation of Indonesia as a state governed by the rule of law,” Sudding said.
The National Mandate Party (PAN) politician said the case should serve as a serious warning for the National Police, arguing that the case highlighted a systemic failure in officer training and internal oversight.
Sudding also urged authorities to hand out strict punishment to PS if he was found guilty, including filing criminal charges against the officer.
“He must be tried in a public court, with a transparent process that allows for thorough public oversight,” he emphasized. Southwest Sumba Police Chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Harianto Rantesalu said that PS has been detained by the police's Internal Affairs Division (Propam) for 30 days pending an ethics hearing.
Harianto also issued an apology to the public for the alleged incident, assuring that the police would conduct a thorough and lawful investigation into the case.
“On behalf of the Southwest Sumba Police, I sincerely apologiSe to the public for this incident. We deeply regret the alleged sexual abuse committed by one of our officers. We are committed to handling this case professionally, transparently and objectively,” he said on Sunday, as quoted by Tribunnews. This was not the first time police officers have been accused of assaulting individuals seeking legal protection.
In December of last year, Brigadier Achmal Subakti, an officer with the Tanjung Pandan Police, was found guilty of raping a 15-year-old girl who was reporting sexual abuse committed by the owner of the orphanage where she was living.
Achmal was sentenced to 13 years in prison and fined Rp 100 million for the crime.
In 2021, Nikmal Idwar, a police officer with the South Jailolo Police Department in North Maluku, raped a 16-year-old girl whom he found after her family reported her missing. He was sentenced to six years in prison and fined Rp 1 billion for the crime. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
