KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — The family of Indonesian national Ruth Sitepu who was reported missing in Malaysia three years ago, has urged the country’s government to locate her.
Ruth is the wife of Malaysian Pastor Joshua Hilmy, both who were last seen on November 30, 2016 and are believed to be victims of enforced disappearance.
Jakarta Post in a report yesterday said Ruth’s younger brother Iman Setiawan Sitepu recently wrote an open letter to Indonesian president Joko Widodo to pressure Malaysian authorities to find her.
In the letter, Iman said a friend of Ruth had told his family that she was missing because of religion-related issues.
He emphasised that Ruth was not someone who would break the law.
Iman has also filed a report with the Indonesian Citizen Protection Department, under its Foreign Ministry.
The paper reported that her family had their last contact with Ruth in November 2016, after which she stopped responding to Facebook messages and telephone calls.
Ruth— a Christian-born native of Sumatra — had lived in Malaysia since 2000, where she worked as a seamstress and met Joshua. The couple married four years later.
Joshua reportedly told Ruth’s family during a traditional wedding ceremony in North Sumatra in 2006 that he used to be Muslim, but had converted to Christianity.
On March 6, 2017, Joshua and Ruth’s landlord filed a missing persons report. The case remains unsolved.
The couple’s disappearance was reported together with the mysterious cases of pastor Raymond Koh and NGO Perlis Hope co-founder Amri Che Mat who are also missing.
Amri, Joshua and his wife Ruth Stepu and Koh were said to have been abducted in the span of two-and-a-half months.
Koh, 62, was abducted on February 13, 2017, in broad daylight by about 15 masked men in seven vehicles in what church groups and family members said seemed like a well-orchestrated “para-military” operation.
Amri — a Muslim forex trader from Perlis who founded the social welfare organisation named Perlis Hope — was abducted near his home on November 24, 2016.
Citizens Against Enforced Disappearances (CAGED) alleged Amri, believed to be a Shiah, was also bundled up into a car by masked men.
Until today the police have yet to solve the cases or provide any convincing explanation.
On February 13, CAGED urged Putrajaya to give immediate attention to solve all three cases.
An inquiry was also held by the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) to determine whether the disappearances of Koh, Amri, Joshua and Ruth were “enforced disappearances,” as defined under the International Convention for Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICPPED), and if the police had taken adequate steps to investigate the disappearance.
The inquiry concluded last December, with the commission expected to announce its findings on April 3.
