Monkey killed for attacking infant

Theresia Sufa, The Jakarta Post/Bogor

A monkey attacked Prihasto Setianto's four-month-old son who was sleeping in a baby carriage near the Putri Astrid soccer field in the Bogor Botanical Garden, where Prihasto was attending a mass Idul Fitri prayer meeting early on Sunday.

Rafid Adrianto had to have 14 stitches to his cheek, forehead and around the eyes as a result of the attack.

Park rangers spent the rest of the day hunting the monkey.

"We caught the monkey in a mosque. We have immediately killed it and dumped its body in the river," security coordinator Sularno said on Monday.

He was referring to the Ciliwung River, which runs through the park.

Not satisfied, Prihasto, a researcher at the agricultural research center in Pati, Central Java, who was visiting his parents in Bogor, demanded that the park management remove all the monkeys from the park.

"I'm worried the monkey was infected with rabies ... the wound on my second son's cheek seems to be staying moist. I hope this sort of thing will not happen to other people," he said.

According to Rafid's nanny, Gina, the monkey clambered down a tree and attacked the baby while they were waiting for other members of family on the park's Jl. Bunga Saputangan.

Sularno said only five monkeys lived in the park, and these were normally to be found in the trees of Jl. Kenari I.

"That monkey did not belong to the pack, whose members were actually abandoned here by visitors," he said, adding that the park management would collaborate with the management of the Taman Safari Indonesia animal park to relocate the monkeys.