Jenny Grant, Jakarta – The number of reported rapes of ethnic Chinese women that occurred during the May riots could drop significantly because of a problem with the way human rights groups collected data, a new report says. "The number of verifiable cases from mid-May was expected to drop below the 130 originally reported, perhaps even substantially below," said a report from the New York-based Human Rights Watch.

The Volunteer Team for Humanity headed by Catholic priest Father Sandyawan Sumardi said that in July 168 women were raped during the riots, with 130 of those cases in Jakarta.

But Human Rights Watch says there may have been confusion over the cases. "There was so much horror over initial reports and concern about protecting victims that the documentation process was somewhat chaotic, with key details missing or the source not clarified," said the nine-page report.

Some of the reported rapes were not clearly connected to the May events. "In other cases it was clear that a passer-by had seen a woman crying uncontrollably, but not at all clear that the woman in question had been raped," the report said.

Accounts gathered by different bodies may have also compounded the figures. "At the time the report was issued, accounts were coming in from many different sources, with several bodies compiling their own data and providing it to the team," the report said.

The Joint Fact Finding team set up by the Government is now working to cross-check figures and rape cases. A source close to the team says only six rapes have so far been cross-checked and verified. "Many of the victims have already fled abroad and most of the checking was done through doctors," said the source.

Team member Father Sandyawan said the 19-member group was using a "comprehensive approach" to verify the rapes which have caused international outrage.