Mataram Police Detain TPQ Teacher Suspected of Sexual Harassment of Female Students

Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara – The Mataram City Police have detained a Taman Pendidikan Al Quran (TPQ) teacher identified as HS (29) as a suspect in a case of alleged sexual harassment of female students. ‘The person concerned is officially detained at the Mataram Police detention facility since Monday (2 March) in the status of a suspect,’ said AKP I Made Dharma Yulia Putra, head of the Criminal Investigation Unit of Mataram Police, at a press conference in Mataram on Wednesday. Police investigators named HS as a suspect believed to have violated Article 415(b) of Indonesian Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Penal Code. ‘Under the new Penal Code rules we are applying, the suspect faces a penalty of up to nine years in prison,’ he said. Dharma explained that the case was first handled following reports by victims submitted through the Lembaga Perlindungan Anak (LPA) Mataram. Joko Jumadi, chair of LPA Mataram who attended the press conference with the head of the Criminal Investigation Unit, confirmed this. ‘The case was initially reported via LPA’s hotline. The incident occurred quite a long time ago. Initially one victim, and it developed to seven,’ said Joko. The sexual offences against a child documented as molestation occurred across seven victims between February 2023 and November 2024. The location of the incident was a TPQ in Ampenan District, Mataram City, where HS taught the victims. ‘So, the molestation occurred during hafalan sessions,’ he added. After receiving support from LPA, the seven victims had the courage to report HS’s molestation to the police. ‘The report was only filed at the beginning of January,’ he said. In relation to the incident, Joko confirmed that some of the seven victims are now adults. Psychologically, he said all victims are normal and not traumatised.