Government told to settle cases of juvenile crime lawfully

Government told to settle cases of juvenile crime lawfully

Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A government-funded children's organization urged the government
on Wednesday to follow the due process of law for children
implicated in crimes.

"Some 95 percent of criminal cases involving children were
settled without the presence of attorneys or adult family
members," said Fachri Bey, deputy head of the Pra Yuwana child
protection organization.

The organization's records showed that 11,344 children across
the country were charged with crimes last year, 4,325 of whom
were taken to court.

Law No. 3/1997 on judiciary for children stipulates only that
children between eight and 18 years of age are fit to stand
trial.

Fachri said Pra Yuwana counselors found many cases in which
the parents of children charged with crimes rejected legal
representation during their investigation and trial processes.

"The parents, most of whom are uneducated, were advised by
either police officers or prosecutors to exclude attorneys from
the cases, as they offered backroom deals," Fachri said on the
sidelines of a seminar on juvenile laws.

Pra Yuwana provides pro bono legal counsel for children
implicated in crimes.

Unfortunately, most judges also neglected children's rights to
legal representation.

"They often speed up criminal trials involving children. Some
courts have even delivered verdicts within half an hour.

"But the saddest thing is that children have been sentenced up
to six years in jail after only a 30-minute hearing without being
given the chance to defend themselves," he said.

Mustofa, a criminologist at the University of Indonesia,
regretted the country's judiciary for neglecting to abide by the
law, which requires children's organizations to represent
juveniles at court.

"They also tend to impose physical sanctions, such as jail
terms, rather than ... an educational program to mend their
behavior," he said.

Once children are convicted, they serve out their sentences
at over-crowded juvenile prisons, although many have to share
cells with adult criminals.

There are only 16 juvenile prisons in Indonesia, most of which
are filled to over-capacity, with government data showing there
are 16,000 juveniles in prisons across the country. In Tangerang,
for example, 365 juvenile inmates are serving sentences at a
prison with a capacity for 160.

"It is no wonder child inmates must share their rations. A
portion of rice for one child must be shared by five to six
children who are at the peak of their growth period," Fachri
said.

He said other child inmates were unfortunate, as they had to
serve their jail terms in adult prisons.

"It is very common that children are jailed in adult
penitentiaries, where children end up learning from adult
inmates," Fachri said, adding that such children were also prone
to abuse.

Wiyono, director of public development at the Ministry of
Justice and Human Rights, acknowledged the government's failure
to provide enough juvenile prisons.

"But we never intended this to be the case. It's force
majeure," he said, but did not elaborate.