An Indonesian PhD student was convicted of 159 sex offences against 48 men on Jan. 6, 2020, in Manchester Crown Court, Britain.

The mother of 36-year-old Reynhard Sinaga claimed that she did not know her son was gay, and believed his victim had made up the story.

Described son as a quiet, churchgoing child

Speaking to The Sunday Times, his mother, Normawati Sinaga talked about how she flew over to visit her son in hospital following his arrest in 2017, after his last victim regained consciousness during the incident and beat up Sinaga.

She said, "Imagine a small Indonesian man being beaten up by a big, tall westerner. I wondered if the other person had made up the story."

The rapist's mother still has not fully accepted that Sinaga was capable of his crimes, nor did she know that her son was homosexual.

She added that her family was Christian, and they did not believe in homosexuality.

Sinaga's mother described him as a "quiet boy" who went to Church every Sunday back in Indonesia, where he played the piano.

She also said to The Sunday Times that she begged him to return to Indonesia before, to take over his father's business, but he told her that he wanted to pursue his ambition of becoming a lecturer.

His father, Saibun Sinaga, told BBC last week that his son's punishment was fitting for his crimes, and accepted the verdict.

Described as the worst rapist in British legal history

Sinaga, who came from a wealthy family in the Indonesian province of Jambi, was called "the most prolific rapist in British legal history" by Ian Rushton, the Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor in Northwest Britain.

He left Indonesia to study in Britain in 2007, to continue his postgraduate studies at the University of Manchester and later at Leeds University.

Friends of Sinaga spoke to Jakarta Post, who recalled that he was often bullied in school by other students who called him "bencong", a derogatory term describing effeminate men or transsexual women.

Convicted of sexually assaulting at least 48 men, of which are 136 counts of rape against 44 men, Sinaga received 88 concurrent life sentences and will serve at least 30 years in jail.

Related story:

Photo by HO / various sources / AFP