240,000 children in East Java neglected

240,000 children in East Java neglected

SURABAYA: No less than 240,000 children were found in
neglected condition all over East Java during 2001, with over
half or 150,982 comprising child refugees from restive Aceh and
Maluku provinces, West Kalimantan's Sambas regency and Central
Kalimantan's Sampit regency.

East Java Deputy Governor Imam Supardi said in Surabaya on
Thursday that some of them were forsaken after they had become
school dropouts, while others were street children with no
schooling, now totaling around 5,000 in the city.

He expressed hope that the public would actively participate
in promoting and providing human rights protection for the kids,
particularly the children's rights.

Supardi pointed out that there were also 5,000 underage
workers in the province.

According to the Director General of Human Rights Protection,
the UNICEF data of 1999 showed that eight million children in
Indonesia became school dropouts due to the economic crisis.

Based on a report of the Children's Protection Commission in
2001, 50,000 street kids were roaming in 12 major Indonesian
cities, besides 400,000 local child refugees facing social
problems and 10.6 million handicapped children.

Mother killed in fire

DENPASAR, Bali: Fire gutted a small house on Jl. Sulastri in a
densely-populated housing complex in East Denpasar at dawn on
Friday, killing a 49-year single mother.

"The victim was identified as Ni Made Suci. Our temporary
conclusion is that the fire was caused by an explosion from the
victim's kerosene stove," Denpasar police precinct chief Adj
Comr. Helmy Santika said.

A local resident said the fire first broke out at around 4:30
a.m. at by 5:00 a.m., it had totally engulfed the house. Local
residents and the Denpasar firefighters managed to put out the
fire at around 6:00 a.m.

They later found Suci's completely-charred body next to the
stove.

"Apparently, she was busy cooking when the stove exploded," he
said. --JP

More counterfeit notes in Surabaya

SURABAYA, East Java: East Java Bank Indonesia (BI) official
Yan Parikan said on Thursday that more counterfeit notes may had
been circulated in the society as fake Rp 100,000 bills,
misleading pamphlets and brochures were discovered recently.

Yan said his office had found widely-spread brochures
allegedly issued on behalf on BI stating that some serial numbers
of Rp 100,000 notes were fake.

"We have never issued such brochures. We have found
counterfeit notes of Rp 100,000 denotation, and they have nothing
to do with the brochures in the supermarkets or gas stations," he
said.

Data at Bank Indonesia office in Surabaya showed that 1,240
fake bank notes or around 0,005 percent of the money in
circulation were found in several districts in East Java from
January to May 2002.

Local police detective chief I Nyoman Komin acknowledged that
they had difficulty arresting counterfeiters.

"So far we have lost so much money but only nailed their
accomplices," Nyoman said.--JP