Married Couple in Surabaya Named Suspects in Toddler Abuse Case
The Criminal Investigation Unit of Surabaya Metropolitan Police has arrested a married couple from Bangkingan, Lakarsantri, on suspicion of abusing their four-year-old niece.
The two suspects, identified by the initials UFA (30) and SAW (23), have been formally named as suspects and are being held in custody at Surabaya Metropolitan Police headquarters. They face a minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment.
The head of Surabaya Metropolitan Police’s Women and Children Protection Unit, Senior Commissioner Melatisari, said the suspects’ motive for the violence was that the victim, a young girl identified as K, was deemed difficult to control.
“The suspects claimed the child was naughty. But at four years old, the degree of naughtiness is fairly measurable. The child was often left alone by the suspects with a mobile phone. After prolonged exposure to the phone, her language began to mirror what she saw on screen,” Melatisari said on Wednesday (18 February).
According to the suspects’ statements, video content watched by the victim prompted her to use coarse language considered inappropriate for a child her age.
The inappropriate words imitated from mobile phone content allegedly provoked both suspects into committing physical violence under the pretext of teaching the child a lesson.
“According to the suspects, the child appeared naughty and was therefore difficult to manage. This triggered the suspects’ anger, leading them to commit violence against the child,” she continued.
Police investigations revealed that suspect UFA admitted to carrying out physical violence since the end of last year. He claimed the beatings were intended to discipline the victim for using foul language.
“I hit her on the mouth. It started at the end of December,” UFA admitted. As a result of the abuse, the victim reportedly sustained a torn wound to her mouth.
Beyond physical violence, suspect SDW also admitted that the victim was frequently locked alone inside their rented room whilst the couple went to work from morning until afternoon.
“I locked her in. From 8am to 5pm? Yes,” SDW said briefly.
The abuse came to light on Monday afternoon (9 February) after a neighbour in the boarding house heard the victim screaming. Witnesses reported that the four-year-old was crying and asking for the door to be opened because she was hungry.
One neighbour, Islaha, said she was deeply distressed upon seeing the physical condition of the child, who was covered in injuries.
“She called out to me repeatedly, asking me to open the door because she was hungry. Her hair was bald on top and her face was covered in wounds. I wept when I saw her,” she said.
For their actions, the couple has been charged under Article 44 of the Domestic Violence Act and the Child Protection Law, carrying a minimum prison sentence of five years.