Parents arrested for maiming six-year-old

Parents arrested for maiming six-year-old

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang

Two years after the House of Representatives passed the Child
Protection bill into law, the abuse of minors remains widespread,
with the most recently reported case in Pasar Kemis, here.

The victim, May Andriani, 6, was allegedly abused by her
mother, Wina, 40, and stepfather, Ucok Simanungkalit, 45.
Over the course of a year, both May's legs were broken and she
was repeatedly burned with cigarette butts and beaten.

"Moving my legs is very painful. Father hit them with a wooden
block," May said from her bed at Tangerang General Hospital on
Thursday.

Pasar Kemis Police arrested Wina and Simanungkalit, who works
as a public minivan driver, on Wednesday evening, after their
neighbors filed a report on suspected child abuse.

Neighbor Sumarni, 46, told the police she became suspicious on
Wednesday afternoon as May had not come out to play with her
daughter three days running.

When both parents were not at home, Sumarni visited May and
was shocked to see the girl lying on her bed with bruises all
over her body. She immediately ran for help from other neighbors.

The girl told her neighbors she had been beaten by her
stepfather and locked inside her bedroom for three days. She said
she could not walk because her legs hurt so much.

Both Wina and Simanungkalit were still being questioned by the
police on Thursday afternoon. The police were waiting for the
results of the hospital's physical examination of May to
determine her injuries.

Pasar Kemis Police detectives chief Second Insp. Sitinjak said
May's mother and stepfather could be charged under the Child
Protection Law. If convicted, they could face up to 15 year's
imprisonment.

Sumarni claimed she had often witnessed the girl being beaten,
but had been afraid to report her parents to the police.

She said she had once seen May being beaten with an iron rod,
the girl had shouted out, begging for forgiveness. She also said
she had witnessed May's head being held underwater in the
bathtub.

"I couldn't bear to see her being beaten up, but I couldn't do
anything about it. I was afraid to interfere in their business,"
she said.