Civil Servant Arrested by PPU Police for Alleged Child Molestation

A civil servant (ASN) working for the Penajam Paser Utara (PPU) Regency government in East Kalimantan was arrested by the PPU Police Criminal Investigation Unit on Sunday (24 May) over allegations of indecent assault against a 10-year-old girl. On Thursday (28 May), PPU Police Criminal Investigation Unit Chief AKP Handry Dwi Azhari confirmed to Media Indonesia that the police had detained a male civil servant suspected of molestation, with the victim being a minor. He stated that the suspect is currently undergoing questioning by the Women and Children Protection Unit (PPA) of PPU Police, following his arrest, and is now being held at the Police Detention Centre. He explained that the case came to light after the victim’s family reported the incident on Sunday night, prompting police to swiftly arrest the suspect without resistance. “The victim disclosed the incident to her family members, who then reported it to the police,” he said. Location of Incident According to statements from the victim’s parents and the suspect, the assault occurred in a rented house in PPU. The suspect lured the young victim, who was still a child, to his residence under false pretences before committing the act. The victim is a neighbour of the suspect and lives in the same rental complex. The molestation took place on Saturday (23 May) at approximately 16:30 WITA inside the suspect’s rented house. The suspect called the victim into his home and asked her to massage his body. “Inside the house, the suspect molested the victim. After the act, he gave her grilled corn and five thousand rupiah. The victim’s family, outraged by the incident, immediately reported it to PPU Police,” he added. Police acted swiftly to detain the suspect following the family’s report, also to prevent potential mob violence against him at the scene. “We received information that the suspect would face mob violence if not arrested promptly. Therefore, after receiving the report that night, we detained him early the next morning,” he said. Arrest of Suspect The suspect was arrested shortly after the police received the report and is currently serving a 20-day detention, which may be extended for further legal proceedings. Based on preliminary investigations and the suspect’s confession, he added, police have not found evidence of additional victims, but are continuing in-depth inquiries. In front of investigators, the suspect admitted to all charges and did not dispute the statements from the victim’s family or the victim herself. “The suspect confessed to committing the act only once and stated there were no other victims,” said the Crime Investigation Unit Chief. He added that besides interrogating the suspect, police also questioned witnesses and held a case review meeting, resulting in the suspect being formally charged. Support has been provided to the victim to aid her psychological recovery, in collaboration with relevant parties. The suspect faces potential imprisonment under applicable laws concerning child molestation. “Investigators are currently finalising the administrative case file before submitting it to the prosecutor’s office for further legal proceedings,” he concluded.