Minister informed of obscene and threat calls

JAKARTA (JP): State junior high school SMP 49 has filed a report with the Ministry of Education and Culture regarding obscene and threatening phone calls received by 30 of its students last month, an official of the school said on Saturday.

Bambang Noegroho, deputy principal of the school, said an official report was handed to the ministry's Jakarta office on Thursday.

"Initially we did not want to expose the matter. We made the report after the head of the ministry office, Alwi Nurdin, asked us to a week ago," Bambang told The Jakarta Post over the phone.

Bambang said Alwi asked for a report after reading articles in Pos Kota and the Post dailies.

He said the report was received by Sulaiman Haryadi, the education office's administration coordinator, on behalf of Alwi.

Bambang said the report listed the names of 24 schoolboys and six schoolgirls, the dates they received obscene phone calls, transcripts of interviews with the student and some of their parents.

As reported earlier, some 60 students from SMP 49 and SMP 68, two of the best junior high schools here, were ordered by unidentified callers to mutilate their genitals and perform other dangerous sexual acts.

Representatives of SMP 68 were not available on Saturday to answer questions of whether they also filed a report with the ministry.

The callers threatened the students with grade demotion if they did not comply with their orders.

Most of the students suffered minor injuries to their genitals after obeying the commands.

Some schoolboys told the Post last week that they were not only told to tie rubber bands around their penises and stick the tips of pencils into the holes of their penises, but were also told to drink insecticide and give themselves electric shocks.

Most students carried out all the orders with the exception of drinking insecticide and giving themselves electric shocks.

Bambang said his school, which is located on Jl. Raya Bogor in East Jakarta, had not filed an official complaint with the police.

"We felt it would be too much. Pak Sulaiman said that since the school had resolved the problem internally, there was no need to involve the police," Bambang said.

Psychiatrist Dadang Hawari and psychologists Gagan Hartana and Joy Mangowal labeled the callers psychopaths.

Students interviewed by the Post last week said that the callers had very soft voices.

Jason (not his real name), said the caller claimed to be Mrs. Lubis, his Indonesian teacher.

"That's impossible. Mrs. Lubis is Batak and has a very distinct voice. That caller was definitely lying," said Jason, who had applied glue to his penis when ordered to.

Eddie, (not his real name), said the caller, who claimed to be Mrs. Lubis as well, sounded very sweet and asked for the names of good-looking school friends and their phone numbers.

"I did not suspect her in the beginning. So, I gave them to her," Eddie said. (ylt)