Two Babies Murdered in Kediri; Four Suspects Arrested
Two couples in Kediri, East Java, allegedly killed their own babies because they feared their families would discover the pregnancies outside marriage. All four have been arrested and named as suspects.
Kediri Police Chief AKBP Muh Wahyudin Latif said the first case involved a couple identified by the initials TW, 23, and DA, 22. TW gave birth to a baby boy in the bathroom of her home in Tunglur village, Badas sub-district, in the early hours of Saturday (3 October).
Afraid that people in the house would hear the baby crying, TW immediately smothered the baby’s mouth and nose after the birth, killing him.
The following day, her boyfriend, DA, took the baby’s body and secretly buried it behind a house in Gedangsewu village, Pare sub-district.
“Afraid that their parents would find out about the pregnancy and birth, the perpetrators deliberately intended to take the life of the baby they had been carrying as soon as it was born,” Latif said on Thursday (8 October).
Police have charged TW and DA under Article 460(1) of Law No. 1 of 2023 on the Criminal Code, as well as Article 80(3) and (4), in conjunction with Article 76C of Law No. 35 of 2014 on Child Protection.
The second case involved a young couple identified by the initials AW, 20, and RGP, 20. The case came to light after residents found a male foetus, estimated to be around five months old, by the roadside in Kunir hamlet, Bulupasar village, Pagu sub-district.
Investigators found that AW had deliberately taken abortion-inducing medication to conceal her pregnancy. After the foetus was expelled, the couple, who said they were not ready to marry, kept it for a time before dumping it by the roadside.
AW and RGP have been charged over the illegal abortion under Article 77A(1), in conjunction with Article 45A of the Child Protection Law, and Article 464(1) of the Criminal Code.
In response to the two tragedies, Latif urged the public, particularly young people, to be more careful in their relationships and avoid decisions that could lead to serious criminal offences.
“Be careful in your relationships and understand the consequences of every decision you make. If you face a problem, never take a shortcut that breaks the law,” he said.