Syamsul Huda M. Suhari and Nadya Natahadibrata, Jakarta/Gorontalo – Resentment grew in the serene province of Gorontalo, a five-hour flight from Jakarta, as residents vented their anger over attempts by the overly powerful police force to cover up the alleged involvement of nine officers in the gang rape of a teenage girl.

The scandal captured the attention of Jakarta after activists and residents staged a rally on Monday at the Gorontalo Police headquarters as no progress had been seen in the investigation of the case.

Police watchdog the National Police Commission (Kompolnas) and government-sanctioned Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) have stepped in to help protect the victim, a 16-year-old high school student identified only as IU, and pressed for a transparent probe into the case.

"There is an indication that the Gorontalo Police have defended their personnel implicated in the case by not arresting them. The police tend to blame the victim," said Kompolnas member M. Nasser.

He said several Kompolnas members would fly to Gorontalo on Thursday to seek clarification from the police there.

He also said a representative from the Witness and Victims Protection Agency (LPSK) would go on the visit. "The LPSK will directly meet the victim and study the case. The agency will determine whether the victim needs protection," Nasser added.

IU has named nine police officers, three security guards and a bank employee as perpetrators. According to the victim, she had accepted a ride to school from a policeman, identified only as IG, in July this year.

The two exchanged cell phone numbers and after numerous meetings, the policeman took the girl to his house, where the first rape allegedly occurred.

On Oct. 4, the victim's father found her in the boarding house of one of the perpetrators after having gone missing for three days. The father was told he would be shot if the crime was revealed.

The victim's family filed a police report on Oct. 8 as the victim was allegedly subjected to repeated gang rapes between July and October.

On Tuesday, the victim fell unconscious during harsh questioning by the Gorontalo Police, in which she was forced to describe the chronology of the incidents and point out her body parts.

"Cases involving law enforcers will most likely make slow progress. Until now, no one has been named a suspect despite strong evidence," KPAI deputy chairwoman Latifah Iskandar said.

The police's reluctance to follow-up on the case was evident when Gorontalo Police chief Brig. Gen. Andjaja said the police thus far had found no evidence of rape.

It is unlikely that the investigation will be taken over by the National Police headquarters in Jakarta as National Police spokesperson Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie has denied the incidents occurred.

"The accused officers have been questioned. There is no rape case despite what has been reported by the victim," said Ronny. "Based on preliminary findings, the victim is known as a 'social person' and is also well-known in the community," he said.

Local resident Andi Inar Sahabat, who is also an activist with the Woman Institute research Institute (Wire-G), said there had been attempts to shift public opinion by describing the victim as a seductress. "Since the very beginning, we have predicted that there would be such attempts to distort the real facts."

The Gorontalo incidents have added to a string of unresolved rape cases allegedly involving police officers.

In April, a police officer assigned to the narcotics unit in Poso, Central Sulawesi, allegedly raped a detainee identified only as FM. However, FM's family later dropped the charges.

In February, a 5-year-old boy from Ciracas, East Jakarta, was sexually abused by two men, one of whom was allegedly a police officer.

Medical examination results from the National Police Hospital revealed no abuse, however, a second opinion from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) hospital stated otherwise. No one was charged in the case.

Crimes allegedly committed by officers are usually dealt with internally, with few ever reaching the courts as the graft-infested police force have an extreme lack of external and independent supervision.

Although Kompolnas is authorized to supervise the police, the agency is deemed toothless as it has no authority to question or sanction recalcitrant officers.

Along with the civil service, the police force, which is directly under the supervision of the President, are the only institutions that have been largely untouched by reform since the fall of Soeharto in 1998.

[Yuliasri Perdani also contributed to the story.]