Dead baby may have been sexually abused

JAKARTA (JP): Physicians believe an 18-month-old boy who died yesterday morning at Harapan Bunda Hospital in East Jakarta may have been sexually abused.

An autopsy showed the anus of the child, identified as John Ade, was dilated and it was surrounded by bruises.

The child lived on Jl. Gedong in East Jakarta.

Hospital pediatrician Dr. Indra Sugiarno said John may have died from an illness brought about by the suspected molestation.

Dr. Agung Prayitno from the intensive care unit of the hospital said John was admitted to the hospital about 9 p.m. Thursday.

Preliminary diagnosis in the emergency unit was for diarrhea and meningitis.

"John's body was stiff. He also had a high temperature. As he did not stop his convulsions, we sent him to the intensive care unit.

"We did our best, but he died this morning," Agung told The Jakarta Post by phone.

When bathing the body, he noticed the unusual signs around the anus.

He asked Indra, who is in charge of pediatrics for the intensive care unit, for a second opinion.

"I believe that the illness that led him to his death might have been due to injuries caused by repeated sexual abuse," Indra told reporters at a separate occasion yesterday.

He added that doctors at the hospital had informed both John's parents and the local Ciracas police about the indications of molestation.

But police officers, he said, had not started the investigation yet.

"There has been no direct response from the officers to investigate this case," he said.

Nurses, Indra said, cried when he revealed his suspicion of abuse.

"He was a naturally very healthy boy," Indra said. (ivy)