“I’m sorry,” Lillian offers. “I know you tried. Sherry, it’s not your fault.”
Sherry nods, although her boss cannot see her.
“The station’s handling it?” Lillian continues.
“Yes, the AOCS was there.”
“OK, get some rest, and we’ll see how we’ll go about the rape case.”
“Night, ma’am.”
“Night.”
Sherry logs on to the Internet, goes to UTube, and searches for “Era’s Salvation.” With Deena standing behind her chair, she watches the horrific experience of the victim with disgust and understands why Era committed suicide.
“Deena, I want you to go to the condo management office and view all their CCTV recordings for yesterday and today. See if you spot anyone suspicious and check with the management if they’re residents. If they are, find out their units. If they’re outsiders, look at the security logs and take down their particulars. I’m going to stop by Forensics.”
“Are you coming back here?”
“No, it’s already late. I’ll go home from there. See you tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
“Call me if you find anything interesting.”
9
THE NEXT MORNING ON her way to the office, Sherry stops at a gas station to buy a newspaper. Sitting in the car, she reads the headline: Immediate Police Action Urged. The story that carried a photo of the victim says:
Era Amilia Zabidin, the vice president of marketing for Uptrend Advertising, was found dead at the foot of her apartment building last night. Police investigations allegedly found no evidence of foul play and classified the case as suicide. It was learned that she was allegedly raped in her apartment after returning from a party celebrating her promotion the night before. The alleged rapists recorded the entire episode and posted it on UTube. The video has since gone viral. The police confirmed a report was made, but have declined to comment further. A spokesman for the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) said they were officially notified by the police to block the video and are looking into it. At press time, the video was still up with close to fifteen thousand hits. The victim’s family said they had not been informed of the alleged rape. They want the culprits caught and charged for murdering their daughter.
Sherry throws the newspaper onto the passenger seat and drives off.
Detective Deena is waiting for her in the lobby when she steps out of the elevator. “Ma’am wants you to go straight to OCCI’s office. She’s waiting for you there.”
“Thanks. Can you take my bag to the office?”
Sherry turns and walks toward the emergency staircase to go up the two flights. Stepping into the OCCI office’s waiting area, she is surprised to see it is full of reporters. She knows some of them, and she greets them with a smile. She glances at her watch. It is 8:10 a.m.
“Inspector Sherry, I was told you’re the investigating officer in this rape-suicide case,” one of the reporters says.
As she turns to the reporter, she is assaulted with a barrage of flashes from cameramen, blinding her temporarily.
“Yes,” she answers, blinking repeatedly to regain her vision.
“Any comments?”
“You know I can’t comment on an ongoing investigation. Hang around, maybe you’ll get lucky.” She motions to the office of the Officer in Charge of Criminal Investigation—aka the OCCI publicity junkie.
“You have any leads on who uploaded the video?”
“Sorry, I’m already late for a meeting. They’re waiting for me,” she says by way excusing herself and flashes a smile for the nonstop clicking cameras.
The OCCI’s secretary greets her and points to a meeting room. “It’ll be there.”
Sherry returns her greetings with a smile and heads for the room.
Kevin Foo, head of Crime Forensics, D10, and Avtar Singh, the head of Legal and Prosecution, D5, are making small talk when Sherry enters. She greets the two officers, noting the absence of her boss and the OCCI.
“Sherry, you’re the IO for the case,” Avtar says rather than asks.
“Yes.”
“The Chosen One,” Kevin says with a chuckle.
Just then, the OCCI and head of D11 enter the room.
“Gentlemen, I suppose you know why you’re here?” Senior Assistant Commissioner Burhanuddin Sidek says, somewhat exasperatedly.
Sherry tries to recall if she has ever seen the OCCI without that constipated look of his.
“Let’s start with Sherry,” he says.
Sherry looks at Superintendent Lillian, unsure where to begin. Seeing the look on her face, Burhanuddin snaps, “I’ve already been briefed on the case by your boss. Tell me what you’ve got on the rapists.”
“So far, not much, except for the physical measurements of the rapist obtained from the video by Forensics.”
“What good is that? After twenty-four hours, you’re telling me you’ve no clue who they are?”
“The rapist didn’t leave any forensic evidence on the victim or at the scene. Without that, we’ve nothing to go on.”
Turning to Lillian, Burhanuddin asks, “That’s it?”
Superintendent Lillian nods and opens her mouth to say something in defense of her officer, but before she can speak, the OCCI turns back to Sherry.
“What about witnesses? CCTV?”
“We viewed the CCTV recordings from the condominium but were unable to get anything from it. The condo only has two cameras, one at the guardhouse and the other in the main lobby. The guards on duty were unable to assist us in any manner.”
“What do you expect from the security guards? How about our detectives? What’s their excuse?”
“They’ve been asked to talk to the residents to see if any of them saw anything and to their informers—”
“Who are you kidding? What informers? You mean those bums hanging around roadside stalls full of gossip?”
Sherry winces and looks at her boss. She knows better than to explain the situation to a man who has no investigative experience and uses television crime series as his benchmark.
“I’ve revisited the crime scene—”
“What did you expect to find at the scene? Their photos? Better yet, their ICs?” Burhanuddin sneers at her.
That would be helpful, Sherry says to herself. To her relief, the OCCI turns his sights on Kevin Foo of D10.
“What about Forensics, what do you have?”
“From the video, it can be seen that the rapist had shaved his pubic hair. It could just be coincidental, or a precaution to ensure no pubic hair was left behind. As for bodily or oral fluid, the victim had already taken a shower when we arrived. That had washed away any evidence on her body. In the video, the rapist was seen sucking the victim’s nipples, yet swabs taken by the doctor on her breasts and nipples yielded no trace of oral mucosa.”
“With all the high-tech equipment available, you’re telling me you have nothing. Do you, or your men, really know how to use the equipment?”
It is Kevin’s turn to wince. He, too, knows it’s useless to say anything.
“I have reporters outside waiting for my press release, and you people are telling me that you’ve got nothing. Do you know how stupid that makes me look?”
They all nod in unison, and Sherry cannot hold back a smile.
“You think that’s funny?” he snaps at her.
She is about to answer when Lillian intercepts.
“We’re forming a task force for this case. I’m putting in a request to Crime Forensics to assign one of their computer technicians to it.”
“Good, good. I’ll tell the press that. Now, we’re getting somewhere. What else?”
“The task force will monitor any new posting. I don’t know if it’s possible, but if it is, I want them to monitor and also to analyze all social media comments on sites related to this video.”
“I’m sure it can be done, I’ve seen it done on NCIS. That agent, McGee, and Abby, they can tr
ack anything on the net. With our technology, we can do anything they can. I like that. Go ahead and set up a task force immediately.”
Sherry and Kevin exchange glances with each other.
The OCCI continues, “That’s how seasoned officers think when confronted with situations like this. We don’t sit around, make excuses, and wet our diapers.” He looks at Avtar, the head of Legal and Prosecution (D5). “The parents are screaming murder. Can we charge the rapists for murder?”
“To charge the culprit under 3-0-2, we need to prove intent. I don’t think we can. I suggest we go on 3-7-6, which carries a thirty-year prison term. We can also load the Communications and Multimedia offense on it.”
“Go back and reread your law books. Find a way to charge them for murder,” Burhanuddin retorts. “I’ll tell the press our Legal and Prosecution is looking into the possibility. How does anyone expect me to serve the public when I’m surrounded by officers like you?”
The OCCI abruptly stands and leaves the room. The four officers look at each other, stifling smiles. When they are sure the publicity junkie is gone and out of hearing, Avtar breaks into a chuckle followed by the rest of them.
“Go reread your laws,” Lillian mocks.
“I need to watch more NCIS,” Kevin jests.
10
THE OCCI’S WAITING ROOM is overflowing with noisy reporters and cameramen as well as NGO representatives. They’ve had a tip that the victim’s delegation will be meeting with the OCCI. It wouldn’t surprise anyone if the tip originated in the same office. Just as the tip said, Era’s parents arrive accompanied by their state assemblyman, the Honorable Puah Chua Keng, his press secretary, David Lam, and a lawyer, Joganathan. The media leap into action, snapping photos and inundating them with questions.
“Mr. Zabidin, did the police say why you weren’t informed of your daughter’s rape?”
“That’s one of the clarifications we’ll be seeking,” the Honorable Puah replies.
“Rumor has it that your daughter was schizophrenic and was on medication. Is that true?”
“Rubbish! Where did you hear that?” Puah lashes out at the reporter. “You should be more professional than to ask questions based on rumors, especially when the family has just experienced a tragic loss.”
In the melee to interview the victim’s parents, the reporters have surrounded them, pushing their chaperons aside. The assemblyman and his team claw their way back beside Era’s parents, having no intention of being excluded from the photos, particularly now, with talk of the general elections on everyone’s lips.
“Please, we’re here to see Senior Assistant Commissioner Burhanuddin. We’ll make a press statement after our meeting,” Puah says.
“What’re you demanding from the OCCI?”
“The family has no comments at this juncture,” Joganathan says, making himself visible for the cameras. Grabbing the arm of a reporter making his way closer to Era’s parents, he hisses, “Stop shoving.”
“What’re your comments on the UTube video?”
“It’s an act of a mentally deranged person who should be charged with the murder of Mr. Zabidin’s baby girl,” Puah answers firmly. “And all those people viewing the video and cheering the rapists should be charged as accomplices. They’re all equally guilty. The authorities should’ve acted immediately to take the video off the Internet.”
“Are you planning on taking civil action against the MCMC for failure to block the video?”
“No comment,” Joganathan barks, annoyed at losing his spot next to the parents in the scrum.
“Can you let Mr. Zabidin answer for himself? We want to hear what he has to say,” one of the reporters shouts from the back of the crowd. The remark is met with loud approval from the other reporters.
“Please excuse us, we don’t want to keep Mr. Burhanuddin waiting,” Puah says, plainly annoyed by the call to shut up.
Concerned by the tense atmosphere, a uniformed policeman from the general office intervenes. He escorts the victim’s parents and their political entourage through, telling the crowd to quiet down. The OCCI’s secretary ushers them into the meeting room and informs them that SAC Burhanuddin will be with them shortly.
Senior Assistant Commissioner Burhanuddin is accompanied by the head of Legal and Prosecution when he enters the room, greets the entourage, and offers his condolences to the parents.
“What’re you doing to bring the culprits to justice?” the Honorable Puah asks curtly, dispensing with pleasantries.
“I’ve issued instructions for a task force to be formed immediately, specifically for this case,” the OCCI proudly declares. “I assure you that my officers, and our forensic experts, are looking at everything to identify the culprits.”
“What about the video on UTube?” Puah asks.
“Again, I assure you there’ll be no further postings. We’re working closely with MCMC, that’s the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, to block further postings on UTube.”
“I know what MCMC stands for,” Puah sneers. “They’re not even able to block the existing video. What makes you so sure they’ll be able to stop further postings?”
The OCCI leans toward his right and whispers to the head of Legal and Prosecution.
“Why the hell has the video not been blocked yet?” he demands.
“There’s nothing we can do, it’s not within our jurisdiction,” Avtar whispers back.
“Are you planning to charge the culprits with murder?” Joganathan asks.
“My head of Legal and Prosecution is looking into that possibility, and I’m sure he’ll come up with something.”
Avtar glares at the OCCI, surprised by his silly answer.
“And what about those people who’re cheering the rapists with their comments, are the police charging them, too? They’re as guilty as the rapists,” Puah butts in.
“We’re just discussing it,” Burhanuddin says, pulling another lie from his back pocket. “Again, D5 will be seriously looking into it.”
“Mr. Burhanuddin, I don’t think you understand what the family is going through,” Puah stresses, clearly unhappy with the answers.
“Yes, I do, and I assure you that we’re not insensitive to their loss and suffering. Mr. and Mrs. Zabidin, again, please accept my condolences.” The OCCI stands, indicating the meeting is over, and heads out to an event he much preferred to be at—a press conference.
11
THE TASK FORCE COMPRISES Inspector Sherry, Detective Deena, and three additional detectives. Superintendent Lillian managed to rope in an IT technician, Saifuddin Rahim, from the Forensic IT section. She also allocated one of the smaller meeting rooms as the situation room.
Saifuddin has set up two desktop computers and a laptop in an arc at the end of the meeting table, with his chair in the middle. Four detectives sitting around the table watch with amusement as he checks the snaking cabling under the table and monitors. Now and then he nods to the monitors. It’s like watching a man caring for his newborn triplets. A computer beeps, and he turns toward the monitor, punches some keys to silence it, and continues working.
“What’s he doing?” one of the detectives asks.
“Playing games,” one of them jokes.
“Checking his Facebook,” says another.
The detectives laugh, and Saifuddin smiles. Inspector Sherry appears at the doorway, putting an end to their banter.
“Okay, let’s set the ground rules,” she says, taking a seat. “One, no one talks about the case to anybody, and I mean anybody, not even your spouse, imam, or priest. Two, you only go home when I tell you, and you come in when you’re called. Three, you eat, drink, sleep, and breathe this case, and only this case. Anyone have any problem with the rules?”
“How about cases we’re on now?” Detective Dorai asks.
“Refer to rule number 3. Anything else?”
The four detectives shake their heads.
“What about me?” Saifuddin asks from behin
d the monitors.
“The same applies to you. Deena, you partner with Dorai, and Mokthar with Yahaya. Deena and Dorai, go over the security videos again. We might have missed something. Visit the security guards again and jog their memories about people coming in and leaving that night. Then I want you to locate the victim’s landlord, find out if he or she has a spare key to the unit. Mokthar and Yahaya, revisit the residents. There could be a few we missed. Shake all your informers and see if they heard anything. I also want to know if any convicted rapist has been released from prison recently and drifted into the city. Also, check with D7. Go around the cybercafes and do some digging.”
Sherry waits for the four detectives to leave before questioning Saifuddin. “Did you make any headway?”
“The username used to upload the video is Emancipatist.”
“Emancipatist? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know, it’s just a username. It doesn’t have to mean anything. You can coin any name you like.”
“Oh, OK.”
“My honeypot’s not picking up the username, and that could mean two things. One: the honeypot doesn’t work, or two: whoever he or she is that’s using the username hasn’t logged on since the last time.”
“I hope it’s the latter. What’s the progress on blocking access to the video?”
“No news yet from MCMC.”
Sherry groans. “They need to do something quick. The media, the politicians, and NGOs are having a field day. The victim’s parents came to see the OCCI with their state assemblyman and a lawyer. I’m sure he made a trainload of promises to keep them off his back.”
“Is there anything politicians don’t get involved in nowadays?” Saifuddin wonders with obvious scorn.
“Not now, OK, Sai?” she says. “Can you get into the victim’s social media accounts? Check if she had Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. If she did, can you hack into her accounts?”
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