Three-member abortion gang busted

Three-member abortion gang busted

Slamet Susanto, The Jakarta Post, Sleman

Yogyakarta police have arrested three people for performing some
300 abortions, mostly at a particular hotel in Yogyakarta and
another in Semarang, over the past two years.

The three people nabbed were Agam Teguh Darmawan, 29, a
Semarang resident who claimed to be the doctor, assisted by
Hengki Ferrari, 27, a Klaten regency resident and Bambang
Tukiyat, 32, a Yogyakarta resident. During the arrest on Sunday
in a hotel in Yogyakarta, the police also detained two students
one identified as A.R. and his girlfriend L.N., who were thought
to be clients. The police also confiscated a variety of medical
equipment such as needles, antibiotics and other items.

In addition to the medical equipment, the police also seized
several tickets to Bandung, Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo, raising
suspicion that the three had expanded operations to those cities.

But, when asked by The Jakarta Post in his detention cell,
Teguh, who is a graduate of a Semarang Health Analyst College and
not a doctor, said that he only operated in two cities, namely
Semarang and Yogyakarta. "I learned about abortions from books,"
said Teguh.

He said that in the past two years, he had performed about 300
abortions at the set price of Rp 1.5 million (US$150) for each.

In a typical week, he would have between three and eight
patients, mostly in their early twenties.

Teguh's operation remained covert for a long time. Teguh did
not seek out the patients by himself, but had his two assistants
do it.

Bambang Tukiyat, one of the assistants, said that he would
find patients in a variety of ways. First, he distributed
pamphlets to potential clients, former ones and to the general
public. Some pamphlets could be found on public walls or
electricity posts, which read: "Have a problem with menstruation?
Call ..." When a patient would call, then Bambang would negotiate
the place and price.

Teguh and his two assistants are now being charged with
violating the law on abortions, which carries a maximum prison
term 15 years.