The Manchester-based student revealed to be ‘Britain’s most prolific rapist’ has 60 victimswho still remain unidentified, police have revealed.
Detectives say they are hoping to track down dozens of unknown men assaulted by the ‘evil’ Reynhard Sinaga – a serial offender who lured drunk men back to his flat in central Manchester.
Sinaga was convicted of 159 counts of sexual offences against 48 different men in 2020 as part of the largest prosecution of its kind in UK legal history.
But Greater Manchester Police say the number of actual victims may be even higher – with Sinaga thought to have committed offences against 206 men in total.
On 11 December 2020, the Court of Appeal ruled that Sinaga’s sentence of life imprisonment would be extended by a further 10 years – meaning he will remain behind bars until at least 2060.
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During sentencing, Judge Suzanne Goddard QC recommended that Sinaga would “never be safe to be released.”
After Sinaga’s conviction became public, GMP’s Assistant Chief Constable Mabs Hussain confirmed that 23 further victims were identified – many of whom had “been enjoying nights out in Manchester City Centre before being preyed on by Sinaga as they made their way home.”
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This week, Detective Chief Inspector Zaheed Ali told the MEN that these 23 victims decided not to pursue further prosecution given Sinaga is “already serving a record sentence for rape offences.”
“That they are satisfied justice has been done is testament to the hard work of our officers, who were able to secure the evidence needed to put Sinaga in prison – where he belongs,” DCI Ali stated.
Dozens of victims, however, are yet to be found.
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Sinaga committed his assaults whilst the victims were unconscious, meaning many have no memory of the incidents.
The DCI said that police wanted to identify the remaining men to offer appropriate support and “secure the maximum possible jail term” for Sinaga.
He stated: “GMP, working with partners including St Mary’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre and Survivors Manchester, will always be on hand to help anyone who believes they may have been a victim of a sexual offence.”
Sinaga was jailed for incidents dating from 2015 to 2017, but police say he was offending for over a decade.
The Indonesian national, who was living on Princess Street in Manchester whilst studying for a PHD from the University of Leeds, was eventually caught when one of his victims regained consciousness during an assault and fought Sinaga off.
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Police then seized Sinaga’s phone and found hundreds of hours of footage he had recorded of each attack.
The search for the unidentified victims continues.
Featured image: CPS
Manchester
Manchester’s AO Arena scoop up Take That as Keane’s Co-op Live gig is cancelled in ongoing venue saga
Daisy Jackson
Manchester’s existing arena, the AO Arena, has stepped in to host more concerts that have been postponed by Co-op Live, with yet another act being cancelled too.
First it was A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, announced earlier today and now, in perhaps the most damning twist of fate for the brand-new venue, Take That’s five-night run that was set for the Co-op Live this May has now been moved to the AO Arena.
Their two June dates at the new arena are said to be unaffected.
The Co-op Live‘s official opening has been hit with several delays, with events like Peter Kay’s double bill, Olivia Rodrigo and The Black Keys all already postponed over the last week or so.
Issuing a statement after rescuing multiple Take That shows, AO Arena general manager Jen Mitchell, said: “It wouldn’t be a Take That tour without a stop-off in Manchester, so it’s great to welcome the band and their fans back to AO Arena for five nights, in the heart of this wonderful city.”
The venue has naturally welcomed the sudden flood of extra names being added to its already strong lineup for 2024, doing its best to minimise inconvenience for gig-goers who have made travel arrangements, booked hotels etc.
As for the group themselves, they also responded to their tens of thousands of fans expecting to see them from this weekend onwards.
Confessing that they’ve had to make “the difficult decision” to switch venues and although “it’s not one [they’ve taken lightly], they wanted to give fans as much notice as possible”, adding: “We thank you for your understanding and we’ll see you all soon”.
Meanwhile, Noughties favourites Keane have sadly had to shelve their Manchester show for the foreseeable following the venue’s continuing “technical issues”.
Announcing the news on their social pages on Thursday evening, they admitted that they were “absolutely gutted” but that the decision was “entirely out of the control”.
Notably, the huge new venue by the Etihad Stadium had to turn away fans who were already queueing for A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie on Monday 1 May, after part of an air conditioning unit fell from the ceiling onto a (thankfully) empty arena floor.
Question marks had already been hanging over whether some upcoming gigs would be able to go ahead and now it seems that they will be taking place – just not at the Co-op Live…
Manchester’s decades-old AO Arena, the largest indoor venue in the UK (until the Co-op Live opens), will be welcoming Keane to its stage instead.
With so many people having been pitting the two venues against one another over the last weeks and months, let’s just say it’s quite clear who’s come out looking better at the minute…
One of Manchester’s newest arts venues to host brand-new comedy festival this summer
Emily Sergeant
A brand-new comedy festival is set to take over one of the city centre’s newest arts venues this summer.
That’s right… some of the UK’s best comedy names are coming to Manchester.
That’s because renowned production company, A Lovely Time, has put together an absolutely jam-packed lineup of television names, internet sensations, and hotly-tipped newcomers, for a weekend full of comedy shows in the heart of the city centre at the exciting new arts venue Fairfield Social Club – which is tucked away down at the Green Quarter.
The exciting new festival, which is called A Lovely Weekend, will kick off on Friday 7 June with a gala show hosted by the company’s very-own Amy Gledhill, who comedy fans may recognise from appearances on BBC‘s Would I Lie To You, and more.
Then, across the rest of the three-day long weekend lineup, you can expect to catch comedy sets and work-in-progress performances from the likes of Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Phil Ellis (Icklewick FM on BBC Radio 4), and Olga Koch (Live at The Apollo on BBC One), Paddy Young, who recently won the BBC New Comedy Award, Chris Cantrill (Avoidance on BBC One), and Blackpool’s-finest Tom Lawrinson.
Internet sensations such as Stevie Martin and Abi Clarke are also on the lineup, as well as hotly-tipped Edinburgh debutante, Hannah Platt, and Geordie sketch supergroup, Metroland.
You can even catch something a little bit different from Poppy Hillstead too, who’s set to transfer her popular podcast to the stage.
Split across two venues over three days, A Lovely Weekend is all looking set to be the largest undertaking from comedy production super-duo, A Lovely Time, which was created by promoter John Stansfield and comedian Chris Cantrill, and, as mentioned, it will take over the newly-opened Fairfield Social Club – a venue which has already hosted brilliant shows from the likes of Josie Long, Three Bean Salad, Ashley Gavin, and Nick Helm since opening back in March.
“We’re so excited to be bringing A Lovely Weekend to Manchester,” commented founder, John Stansfield.
“The city is long overdue a proper comedy festival, and across the three days at Fairfield Social Club, we’ve programmed some of our absolute favourites to ensure a lovely time for all.”
Tickets to A Lovely Weekend have just gone on sale yesterday (Wednesday 1 November), and are already selling fast – with both day and full weekend passes available from £20, and individual show tickets up for grabs from £6 each too.