Remains of aborted fetuses to be checked
Remains of aborted fetuses to be checked
JAKARTA (JP): Lebak Police subprecinct in West Java plan to
send the remains of 54 aborted fetuses found buried at a
residential property in the area to National Police Headquarters
in Jakarta for a forensic examination on Monday, an officer said
on Saturday.
Lebak Police chief Lt. Col. Sulistiyono said the examination
at the National Police forensic laboratory was needed to build a
case over the abortions allegedly committed by local resident
Widah Wiratnasih, in her 40s.
"We need to know, for example, the estimated ages of the
fetuses, before we can proceed with our investigation,"
Sulistiyono told The Jakarta Post by phone on Saturday.
The fetuses, believed to have been aborted at between two and
nine months, were found on Aug. 28 buried in the backyard of
Widah's residence in Cikotok village.
Abortion is a crime in Indonesia.
During preliminary questioning, Widah, who practiced as a
midwife in the village, admitted to have begun burying the
fetuses in 1997, when she started aborting unwanted babies for
women.
Sulistiyono said the suspects statement would be checked
against the results of the forensic tests in Jakarta.
According to police, Widah said some of her clients came from
other areas, including Jakarta, and she received Rp 1 million
(US$127) per client.
Local police detectives are checking the possibility of the
involvement of other people in the business, Sulistiyono said.
Police so far suspect a relative of Widah, identified only as
Uci, to have been involved in the abortion practices, the officer
said.
But Sulistiyono refused to elaborate on Uci's suspected role.
The officer said the discovery of bones in the tiny backyard
of Widah's home were based on a tip-off from neighbors over her
alleged role as a buyer of stolen motorcycles.
When police searched her house, they found two of the
reportedly stolen bikes and also the remains.
"In the beginning, we found only seven remains. We conducted
another search the next day as I suspected that there would be
more remains there," Sulistiyono explained.
The fetuses were said to have been buried about 20 centimeters
below ground, making it an easy task for the officers to dig them
out.
Conducting and helping with abortions are punishable under
Articles 348 and 349 of the Criminal Code. The articles carry a
maximum penalty of five years and six months, and the possible
revocation of any medical licenses.
Late in 1997, the country was rocked by the discovery of 11
fetuses wrapped in three plastics bags at a garbage dump on Jl.
Warakas in Tanjung Priok, North Jakarta, and several others in
the backyard of a school for disabled children and a clinic site
in Central Jakarta.
Police named at least 13 people as being involved, including
staff from the clinic and a doctor, who is also an Army
lieutenant colonel. (03/bsr)