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