Police criticize clinic raid by residents

JAKARTA (JP): Local residents were castigated yesterday for interfering in a police investigation and removing vital evidence from a clinic in Central Jakarta which allegedly performed abortions.

Central Jakarta Police chief Lt. Col. Imam Haryatna said some residents had apparently broken into the clinic before a police raid Wednesday and removed the admission books, which are vital to the police probe.

"Now we don't have any hard evidence which could be used to nail the suspects. We've only got blood. Alone it is not sufficient to prove the abortion allegations," he said.

Local residents flocked to Khairani Clinic on Jl. Kramat VI, accusing the owner and her staff of performing abortions there for many years.

The angry mob protested in front of the clinic, destroying the clinic's signboards and entering the clinic, Iman said.

Police dispersed the crowd and then raided the clinic. Officers reportedly detained seven of the clinic's staff members and collected samples of fresh blood from the clinic's bathroom floor and also found some blood clots.

"The raid actually enabled us to collect information from the people who worked for the clinic," Iman said.

He urged people not to interfere in future and let police do their job instead of acting on their own suspicions.

Some people who joined Wednesday's protest said they had repeatedly reported the clinic's alleged abortion activities and felt compelled to act because authorities had failed to respond to their complaints.

They also said that no one from the group had entered the clinic or interfered in the police investigation.

"We appreciate the people's help," Iman said. "But when they enter the site and start touching things inside then it's not a good idea because it could destroy evidence."

Imam said that police needed more than just neighborhood suspicion and the blood found inside the clinic for a conviction.

"I mean, the blood could just have been menstrual blood. And let's say it was blood from a patient, where is the patient?.

"Police can't just arrest someone because other people say he or she is guilty of committing a certain crime. If it was an abortion case, then we need the patient who aborted her baby, the aborted fetus, the doctor who performed the abortion and many others."

Iman said that the clinic's seven employees were released after being questioned due to a lack of hard evidence.

"The owner of the clinic has also walked free because there was no evidence, not even the discovery of blood, which could prove her involvement in abortions."

The clinic owner, obstetrician and gynecologist Indrawati Dardiri, went to Senen Police station Thursday for questioning.

She left the police station with her lawyer Ruhut Sitompul yesterday afternoon.

Ruhut said that her client had never provided abortion services to her patients.

"There were some who came and asked her to terminate their pregnancies but my client always rejected the patients' requests," she said.

Police said they would continue their investigation by examining the blood found at the clinic. (cst)