Detaining boy a mistake

Detaining boy a mistake

Regarding the news about a nine-year-old boy imprisoned for 52
days (The Jakarta Post June 22, 1995) I would like to make some
comments.

I am very concerned with the boy's condition and I deplore the
police official's pretext. It seems that there is nothing wrong
with the police.

Moreover, when I watched the television broadcast I noticed
how the boy suffered. He did not like to go out and play with his
friends. According to a noted psychiatrist at Gadjah Mada
university, the boy has become anguished. He is completely
forlorn.

I cannot imagine how the boy felt during his 52-day detention.
And I have doubts about his future. Truly, the boy has done
something against the law. But I would like to refer to Article
34 of the 1945 Constitution, which says: "Poor people and
neglected children are under the government's care and
protection." A legal expert and a member of National Commission
on Human Rights said that the detention of the boy was a "big
mistake."

ACHMAD BAIHAQI

Kediri, East Java