‘He is my baby’: Mother of Britain’s most prolific rapist Reynhard Sinaga speaks out

Normawati Sinaga claims she had no idea her son was gay and struggles to believe he was capable of his crimes

The mother of Britain’s most prolific rapist has said he is still “my baby” and she struggles to believe he was capable of his crimes.

Reynhard Sinaga, 36, was convicted of 159 sexual offences against 48 men who were lured back to his flat in Manchester before being drugged and attacked.

His victims ranged in age from 18 to 35, and the majority were heterosexual. One was raped eight times in eight hours as he lay unconscious.

Police believe the postgraduate student may have abused at least 195 males after discovering videos he filmed of himself carrying out the assaults, and more potential victims have come forward since he was jailed last week.

He was caught in June 2017 when his final victim, an 18-year-old man, woke up during his ordeal and managed to take Sinaga’s mobile phone during the struggle.

Sinaga’s mother, Normawati Sinaga, has claimed she did not know her son was gay and believed his victim had made up the story.

Describing how she flew to the UK to visit him in hospital following his arrest, she told The Sunday Times: “Imagine a small Indonesian man being beaten up by a big, tall westerner. I wondered if the other person had made up the story.”

Ms Sinaga described her son as a “quiet boy” who went to church in Indonesia every Sunday, where he would play the piano.

She added: “We are a good Christian family who do not believe in homosexuality. He is my baby.”

The mother said she begged the perpetual student to return to his home country but he told her he wanted to follow his ambition of becoming a lecturer.

“He said Indonesia was not a good place to live for him and he felt comfortable living in Manchester,” she said.

Although Sinaga did not explain why, it may have been because of the way homosexuality is viewed in Indonesia, where the northern province of Aceh approved a law in 2014 that can punish anyone caught having gay sex with 100 lashes.

The serial rapist’s father told the BBC “his punishment fits his crimes” after he was jailed for life on Monday.

Because of the high number of offences, Sinaga’s crimes had to be divided into four separate trials.

The bedroom floor, where dozens of rapes took place, in Sinaga’s city centre apartment (Greater Manchester Police/PA)

He was publicly identified on Monday after the conclusion of his fourth trial saw reporting restrictions lifted.

Manchester Crown Court heard how Sinaga went out in the early hours of the morning, prowling the streets looking for drunk young men who were alone around nightclubs near his flat.

The slight-built Indonesian student posed as a good Samaritan, offering the men a place to sleep or more drink, the court heard.

He is thought to have laced alcoholic drinks with a drug such as GHB, known as liquid ecstasy, to incapacitate his victims.

In court, he claimed the men consented to playing a sex game in which they pretended to be dead.

But the defence was labelled “preposterous” by prosecutor Iain Simkin as footage, recorded by Sinaga on two iPhones, showed some victims snoring.

Ian Rushton, northwest deputy chief crown prosecutor, said Sinaga was “the most prolific rapist in British legal history” and possibly in the world, and would “no doubt still be adding to his staggering tally” had he not been caught.

Detectives say Sinaga may have committed crimes for 10 years and have urged anyone who believes they may have been approached by him on a night out to come forward.

Additional reporting by Press Association