‘Sick’ Solo King a No-Show for Questioning in Abuse Case
Solo, Central Java. Sukoharjo Police have issued a second summons for the king of Solo in Central Java, Pakubuwono XIII, after he failed to honor an official police request for questioning on Thursday.
Pakubuwono XIII was reported to the police last December for the alleged sexual assault and trafficking of a minor.
Sukoharjo Police called the king for questioning last week, but he failed to make an appearance, citing health problems. Investigators have issued a second summons for early this month.
“We summoned the king so he could clarify on matters last Thursday. But his lawyers informed us that he would be under doctor supervision until March 10,” Sukoharjo Police Chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Andy Rifai told the Jakarta Globe on Saturday.
He added that investigators have finished questioning eight witnesses, including the victim, and they now require the king’s testimony.
The case is ongoing and police continue to search for evidence, he said.
“Our investigation continues — we never closed the case. But we will need to question the king as the accused,” Andy said.
Lawyers for Pakubuwono XIII have claimed he has been too sick to undergo police interrogation, saying the king suffered a stroke that required intensive medical treatment in a Jakarta hospital.
Meanwhile, Sukoharjo District Court judges on Thursday handed down a verdict sentencing Suryawati or Watik, 36, previously known with the initials W.T., to three years in prison for bringing the king’s alleged victim to M.Y., another trafficker who is still being sought by police.
Judges declared Watik guilty after prosecutors proved she had violated child protection laws by “selling” the student.
Based on facts revealed in court, the victim, a 16-year-old student at a Sukoharjo vocational high school, confided in a friend that she needed money to pay her school fees. The friend introduced her to Watik, who then brought the girl to M.Y.
M.Y. promised to supply the victim with a well-paying job but allegedly sold her to Pakubuwono XIII.
Watik claimed she never knew the “client,” but said M.Y. would often refer to him as “sinuhun” or “sinuwun” — both Javanese terms of address for royalty.
“The court sentences [Watik] to three years in prison and imposes a fine of Rp 10 million [$770],” Judge Teddy Windiartono said as he read out the verdict.
According to the victim’s testimony, the 16-year-old was allegedly raped in March last year but failed to report the incident to the police until July.
After agreeing to the job M.Y. offered her, she said she lost consciousness in a car after eating candy given to her by the king. She then woke up naked in a hotel room with Pakubuwono XIII.
The girl later became pregnant and gave birth to a son in Solo Central Hospital in November. The king has refused to provide a DNA sample for a paternity test.
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