Share

4 Indonesians in rape case retract confessions

Jakarta - Four janitors charged with raping a kindergartner at a prestigious international school in Indonesia retracted their confessions on Wednesday, saying they were tortured by police during questioning.

They made the retractions on the second day of the closed-door trials of five custodians at the Jakarta International School, which is facing a storm of controversy following allegations of additional abuse.

The school was shaken earlier this year in an unrelated case after news surfaced that William Vahey, an American who taught there from 1992 to 2002, killed himself as the FBI was investigating evidence that he may have sexually abused scores of teenage boys during a 40-year career at 10 international schools across four continents. However, there have been no allegations that he molested any students in Indonesia.

Six custodians - five men and a woman - were arrested in April. However, one man committed suicide by drinking bathroom cleanser while in police custody. Their trials began on Tuesday at the South Jakarta District Court with the first male defendant.

Patra M Zen, one of their lawyers, said the defendants insisted on Wednesday they were innocent and retracted the confessions they had given investigators, saying they could not withstand the alleged torture.

The defendants are Virgiawan Amir, Syahrial, Zainal Abidin and Afrischa Setyani. Setyani, the only woman, is accused of being an accomplice. The first hearing on Tuesday was for the fifth defendant, Agun Iskandar.

They could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty of raping the 6-year-old boy, whose parents are seeking $125m in compensation from the school.

Since the case of the janitors surfaced, two other families of young male students have come forward, leading to the arrests in July of Canadian school administrator Neil Bantleman and Indonesia teaching assistant Ferdinant Tjiong.

A campaign on social media has called for the release of the staff members, who have denied the allegations.

The school is attended by the children of foreign diplomats, businesspeople and Indonesia's elite. It has 2 400 students aged 3 to 18 from about 60 different countries.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 570 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 814 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.88
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.39
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.33
+0.1%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent-ruolie
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE