A 21-year-old mother who was the victim of rape allegedly by seven men is believed to have taken her own life in Madura Island.

A 21-YEAR-OLD woman who was the victim of rape allegedly committed by seven men was found dead, apparently by her own hand at her home in Bangkalan, Madura Island.

Police said that her body was discovered in the kitchen and presumed that her death was caused by ingesting bleach, tribunnews. com reported.

The mother of one was reportedly raped in a forest just 600m from her house last Thursday at around 8pm, when she was returning from a trip to a nearby supermarket accompanied by two male acquaintances.

The three were approached by seven men claiming to be her relatives who insisted on taking her the rest of the way home, saying that she had been missing for a few days.

The victim’s cousin, Musli Multono, said the two men who had accompanied her to the store were not close friends, and that they believed the men’ claims and left her with them. He added that following the incident, his cousin received phone calls from unknown numbers threatening her.

“We handed her phone to the police,” said Musli.

Bangkalan Police criminal investigation chief Adj Comr Agus Sorbanapraja said that police had identified six of the seven suspects and arrested four on Monday evening.

“We informed the families of the perpetrators prior (to their arrest), that they had been named as suspects in the case. We (were able to) arrest them with the help of the village head,” said Agus.

Police had raided two houses in Tlokoh and Tanjung Bumi villages in pursuit of the two other identified suspects prior to Monday’s arrests but were unable to locate them.

Agus added that most of the suspects were in their early 20s, and that they had identified two students in connection with the case as MF, 21, and J, 15. — The Jakarta Post/ANN