Two neglected siblings found dead

Two neglected siblings found dead

Arya Abhiseka, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Hendri Sumawan, 46, better known as A Miaw to his neighbors and
family, was probably about to prepare a meal for his two mentally
ill sisters Chung Moy Hiong, 53, and Chung Yen Siang, 50, one
evening.

However, he apparently slipped as he was walking down the
stairs of the family home to prepare dinner. Miaw's head hit the
floor and he was knocked unconscious.

Meanwhile, Moy Hiong and Yen Siang watched silently as their
brother died.

A few days later, Moy Hiong also died as she and her sister
were not fed for days after Miaw's death.

This tragic story was pieced together from information
gathered from neighbors, police and family members on the deaths
of the two neglected residents of a house in the crowded Tanah
Tinggi area in Central Jakarta.

Neighbors, who became suspicious after a stench from what was
assumed was a dead animal emanated from the Chung family's house,
decided to call up another Chung family member, Iwan Sukiman, who
lives in a nearby neighborhood.

Iwan soon found the bodies of two of his three siblings in the
house. He believed they had died several days ago. His sister,
Yen Siang, was not aware of what had happened.

Mentally ill people are often neglected even by their own
families and the Chung family is another classic example.

The head of Soeharto Herjan mental institution in Grogol, West
Jakarta, R. Surya Widya, said earlier that 50 percent of the
institution's patients were not taken home by their families when
they were ready for release.

Surya said that patients with mental illness required
meticulous care to ensure a smooth transition into normal life.

Letty, a next door neighbor of the Chung family, said that the
two sisters and A Miaw had lived there for more than 30 years,
while she seldom saw other relatives visiting them.

"What's funny is I rarely see any family members come to
visit. I knew the three siblings that lived next door to me, but
I never knew how they were fed, since A Miaw did not seem to have
a job," she added.

Sutadi, 55, the eldest brother of the Chung family said that
he and several others family members had agreed to appoint A Miaw
to take care of their mentally ill sisters.

"We regularly sent instant noodles and rice to them," he said,
but admitted that his family had already given up taking care of
Moy Hiong and Yen Siang as many of them had started their own
families and could spare neither space nor affection for the two.

"Most of us who have our own families were not prepared to
take care of them," he said.

"We had sent them to Soeharto Herjan mental hospital in
Grogol, and later decided to take them out and place them at one
of our family houses with A Miaw," Sutadi said.

He further explained why A Miaw was appointed to take care of
Moy Hiong and Yen Siang. "A Miaw was always introverted and he
was the only brother who did not have a family of his own."

He admitted that his entire family had entrusted A Miaw to
take care of the welfare of the two mentally ill sisters, but the
other family members seldom visited Moy Hiong and Yen Siang.

"If A Miaw did not call us to ask for money or food we did not
communicate with them as communication with the three of them was
difficult," he said.

Neighbors also admitted that A Miaw was rarely seen in the
neighborhood and was known to be very quiet.

Sutadi refuted that his other family members had intentionally
neglected the three siblings. "No, we did enough to ensure their
welfare as they were never underfed."

But when asked about providing mental and emotional support
for the three, Sutadi did not respond.

When The Jakarta Post visited the house where the incident had
happened, Yen Siang was sitting alone on the porch in the hot
afternoon sun, gazing at her feet.