Toddler Falls Victim to Violence in ‘child-friendly’ Depok

The Jakarta Post

Jakarta   /   Thu, February 14 2019   /  01:44 am

Muhammad Idris (Antara)

Clothes have been left hanging at a small now-deserted house in Cimpaeun village in Depok, West Java, after the family renting it was torn apart when a 2-year-old girl, identified as F, was killed on Feb. 8 and her stepfather, Heri Kurniawan, 24, was accused of the crime and arrested.

The family of four had lived in the house for three months prior to the incident. Heri and his wife, Eny, 18, who both earned incomes as buskers, lived together with two children, one from Heri’s previous marriage and the other from Eny’s previous marriage.

Next-door neighbor Gama Perkasa, 50, told The Jakarta Post that he saw Heri coming home drunk almost every day. He claimed he often heard the young couple, who had been married for one year, cursing and hitting each other almost every day.

Depok Police deputy chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Arya Perdana alleged that when Heri and Eny bickered, they often vented their anger at each other’s children.

“Days before the incident, Heri tortured the victim. Eny, too, mistreated Heri’s child,” Arya claimed.

According to Arya, just before the fatal incident took place, Heri and Eny had made up from a previous argument. “Heri asked his wife to go home early, but it turned out that his wife went home late and there were no meals at the house. Heri got angry and beat his stepchild to death,” he alleged.

According to Arya, at first Heri tried to convince his wife and the neighbors that the child was ill, but they grew suspicious and reported him to the police. Police claim Heri later admitted that he was drunk when he beat the baby.

Heri faces charges under Article 338 of the Criminal Code on murder and, if found guilty, could serve up to 20 years in prison.

This was the latest child abuse case uncovered in Depok, a region awarded in 2017 and 2018 by the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry for being child-friendly, given its standard operating procedures for preventing and handling domestic violence, its public facilities like special places for breastfeeding and playgrounds in subdistricts and its move to make malls smoke-free.

The award was given even though Depok recorded 34 cases of violence against women and children in 2018, the highest in West Java, according to the ministry’s data.

In another recent case, in late January, Depok police arrested a babysitter, Lomrah, 66, naming her a suspect in the murder of a 2-month-old girl in the Villa Santika Residency in Pancoran Mas. Police claimed the suspect told them she chocked the baby to death with her milk bottle because she would not stop crying.

Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) commissioner Jasra Putra said that while Depok’s standard operating procedures seemed adequate for detecting domestic abuse, including of children, the “early-warning system” seemed not to be running effectively.

“In this case, the neighborhood and community unit heads probably had not been trained to identify violence, including knowing [when there was] potential violence in young families and by single parents in troubled economic conditions,” Jasra said.

Arya said the city lacked a good system for reporting and preventing domestic abuse.

“There is a lack of synergy between the police and the integrated care center [for prevention and handling of domestic violence]. They often do not report to us or immediately provide rehabilitation measures,” Arya said.

Romi, the head of the neighborhood unit where Heri and his family lived, said they had just moved in three months ago and not many people knew them well, although they had relatives living less than 5 kilometers away.

“Even though our house is close, I don’t care about their business. Maybe my wife does, but I don’t. I was also shocked at that time, “ said Wandi, who is married to Heri’s sister.

Wandi said the Depok administration had taken Eny and Heri’s daughter for trauma healing at different places.

Depok Mayor Muhammad Idris said the incident involving Heri’s family was a difficult one for his administration and it had promised to provide counseling and legal assistance.

“The mother is still in shock. She is also still under police supervision,” Idris said, adding that while Eny recovers, Heri’s daughter would be handed over to his ex-wife in Padang, West Sumatra. (ggq)


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LEAD

Clothes have been left hanging at a small now-deserted house in Cimpaeun village in Depok, West Java, after the family renting it was torn apart when a 2-year-old girl, identified as F, was killed on Feb. 8 and her stepfather, Heri Kurniawan, 24, was accused of the crime and arrested.

What    = a 2-year-old girl was killed
When   = on February 2019
Where  = Cimpaeun village in Depok, West Java
Who     = identified as F

HEADLINE

Toddler Falls Victim to Violence in ‘child-friendly’ Depok

BYLINE

Muhammad Idris (Antara)

QUOTES

Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) commissioner Jasra Putra said that while Depok’s standard operating procedures seemed adequate for detecting domestic abuse, including of children, the “early-warning system” seemed not to be running effectively.

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