Hunt on for 30 rape suspects

National, Normal
Source:

The National, Friday 3rd May 2013

 MADANG police are searching for 30 men from Yabob village who gang-raped a 23-year-old woman last month.

The matter was only reported to police this week.

The police report said the Yabob woman was returning home on April 21 around noon when she was confronted by a cousin who threatened her with a bush knife. She was led into nearby bushes between the old PTC facility and the Morelang armlet of the village and was raped.

According to the police, the victim said after her cousin raped her, a group of men numbering about 30 took turns in raping her.

Her ordeal lasted until 10pm before she was released.

The incident happened two days after the American scientist was raped at Karkar Island.

The woman said she only reported the matter this week because she had been in so much pain and shock.

On April 6, a mother of four from Southern Highlands was raped by a man at Bukbuk.

On Wednesday, a female employee of RD Tuna Canners was forced into a bush but fled.

She asked her captor to cut a banana leaf which she wanted to lie on. When he went to cut the leaf, she fled.

And yesterday a 35-year-old man from Raicoast allegedly offered K20 to a 12-year-old boy in exchange for sex. That occurred inside Papindo department store in town at 11am. 

The Grade 5 Kusbau Primary school boy said he went late for classes and decided to go to town before going home and caught up with the man in town.

The boy of East Sepik and Madang origin alerted a young man next to him who then alerted others. 

A few minutes later a huge crowd chased the man towards the Raicoast boat stop and beat him up before bringing him to the town police station.

Police sector patrol commander Jacob Maki said the man would be charged for assault and attempted sodomy.

Madang leaders have expressed concern over the uncontrolled rape incidents in the province and questioned where all the good haus man advice Madangs receive from initiations ended up.

Mercy Timaus from Raicoast said Madangs committing rapes were an insult to their society.

“Where is Madang’s so called pasinkagin leading to?”Timaus asked.

He said young men were initiated as part of a long-time Madang tradition to love and respect women, elders and visitors but the current actions of their young men were big slaps on the face of that proud heritage.