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.