Lengthy procedures stall investigation of maid abuse case

JAKARTA (JP): Ten days have passed since a housemaid set herself ablaze in despair while her coworker is still hospitalized due to severe injuries.

But their employers, whom the survivor said were the source of the tragedy, have yet to be detained.

"The case is being handled and in the meantime we are still waiting for the results of the medical tests (of the survivor)," Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Anton Bachrul Alam told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Middle-ranking naval officer Maj. Edison Hutapea and woman police officer First Adj. Insp. Marsini Napitupulu are alleged to have abused their housemaids, Sipon and Jumiati, over a sustained period.

Jumiati said that not only did the couple physically assault them, but also locked the two in their house in the navy housing complex in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta.

Sipon committed suicide by burning herself on Sept. 7 as she allegedly could no longer tolerate being abused by the couple.

Anton said the police had yet to detain Marsini pending their receipt of the results of Jumiati's medical examination and the questioning of witnesses.

After police receive the result of tests, the next step is, according to Anton, summoning and questioning the witnesses, including the victim. And after the file on the case has been completed, the police will then summon the suspect.

"I guarantee that Ibu Marsini will not run away. She is an serving police officer. I believe she knows the consequence if she runs away from this. It's I who am guaranteeing that she will not run away, and that her case will be processed later."

"As a policewoman, if she runs away she will not receive her salary," Anton added.

Meanwhile, Naval spokesman First Commander Franky Kayhatu said that the Navy viewed the case seriously as it involved civilians.

"We are still investigating the case thoroughly since we have to gather all the evidence and interview all the witnesses," he said on Tuesday.

Therefore, Franky said, it would take some time before Hutapea was named a suspect if there was found to be a prima facie case against him.

Hutapea was still being questioned at naval headquarters in Cilangkap, East Jakarta, but he had not been detained according to Franky.

Separately, a women's rights activist, lawyer Rita Serena Kolibonso, said that the suspects should be detained since they had inflicted serious abuse on their maids.

However, she admitted that it was not easy to bring the suspects before a court as they were not civilians. Permission had to be obtained from their direct superiors to investigate the case.

"In such a case (according to the military procedures), the victim or witnesses should file a report with the military police or navy shore patrol.

"However, they should be active in dealing with the case since it has become widely discussed among the general public," Rita told the Post by telephone.

She also expressed skepticism saying that should the case be brought to court, it was likely that their organizations would support the defendants as had often happened in the past.(emf/04)