Jakarta. Two women have come forward to file a police complaint on alleged sexual abuse by Edie Toet Hendratno, the chancellor of Jakarta-based Pancasila University, their lawyer said on Sunday.

Edie, 72, has denied any wrongdoing and urged the media to respect the principle of the presumption of innocence.

The accusers are both former employees of the university, identified by initials RZ, who headed the public relations division, and DF, a part-time employee.

RZ, 42, alleges that Edie kissed her without consent and tricked her into approaching the chancellor who suddenly grabbed her by the breast, said her lawyer, Amanda Manthovani.

During the incident in February 2023, RZ was called for a private meeting inside Edie’s office. When RZ was writing on a notebook during the briefing, Edie suddenly approached her chair and kissed her in the cheek, the lawyer said.

“I immediately stood up and wanted to punch him, but I maintained my composure despite the overwhelming anger,” Amanda quoted RZ as having told her.

She said Edie’s inappropriate behavior didn’t stop there. When RZ requested to leave the room, Edie with a soft tone asked her to check if he had a red eye and to apply an eye drop for him.

Edie took an eye drop bottle from his bag and went to his chair. When RZ lowered her body to apply the eye drop, Edie suddenly grabbed her by the breast, the lawyer said.

The complaint detailing her experience was registered with the Jakarta Police dated January 12.

The second accuser, DF, filed a separate complaint with the National Police’s Criminal Investigation Agency (Bareskrim) on January 29.

According to the lawyer, Edie kissed DF without her consent after inviting her for a meeting in his office in December 2022. DF eventually submitted her resignation due to the “traumatic incident”, Amanda said.

An attorney for Edie denied the accusations and questioned the timing of the complaints, suggesting a potential motive related to the upcoming election of a new chancellor. Edie's tenure is set to expire on March 14.

“It’s very strange that the complaints were filed only recently just before the election of a new chancellor. We put our trust in the police that they will handle this case professionally,” lawyer Raden Nanda Setiawan told Kompas news website on Sunday. 

“Our response is that the alleged sexual abuses are false and they never happened.”

Edie is a law professor who began his term as the Pancasila University chancellor on May 28, 2021. His attempt to become a Constitutional Court justice in 2014 was unsuccessful.