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.