Korean Man Rapes Korean Woman on Indonesia’s Gili Island; Prosecutors Sought 8 Years, but He Got 8 Months

[Financial News]   A Korean man who raped a Korean woman staying at the same accommodation on Indonesia’s Gili Island, known as the filming location for the TV variety show Youn’s Kitchen, was sentenced to prison.
According to Yonhap News Agency and Indonesia’s state-run Antara news agency on the 9th, the Mataram District Court in West Nusa Tenggara Province recently sentenced Korean national A, who was indicted on charges of violating the law on sexual violence crimes, to eight months in prison and a fine of 20 million rupiah (about 1.5 million won).
A was sent to trial on charges of raping Korean woman B at an accommodation on Gili Trawangan Island in West Nusa Tenggara Province in April.
Investigators determined that A first met B at the same accommodation, then broke into her room late at night and committed the crime.
B sought help from the Bali branch of the South Korean Embassy in Indonesia and then reported the incident to local police. After police requested that A be barred from leaving the country, he was caught about 10 days later at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport as he tried to leave for South Korea.
Local prosecutors sought an eight-year prison sentence for A, but the court handed down a shorter sentence of eight months in prison and a fine of 20 million rupiah (about 1.5 million won).
Victim B said she could not accept either the investigation or the verdict. She told Yonhap News Agency, “Immediately after the incident, I was subjected to more than 14 hours of intensive questioning without even being able to wash, and I actively cooperated with the investigation, yet they did not even conduct a DNA test that could have provided key evidence at the scene.” She added, “The court of first instance handed down a light sentence far below what prosecutors had sought, citing reasons such as the defendant’s being young and a first-time offender.”
Under Indonesia’s law on sexual violence crimes, suspects in rape cases can be sentenced to up to 12 years in prison and fined up to 300 million rupiah (about 22 million won).
Local prosecutors plan to consider whether to appeal the ruling.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter