HORROR STORY FROM JAKARTA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL by Fardah

   Jakarta, April 23, 2014 (Antara) - The incident about a six-year-old boy sexually assaulted by at least two men in his kindergarten's toilet is not an episode of "American Horror Story" series on cable television channel FX, but a grim reality.

         This incident has led to the prestigious Jakarta International School complex to improve its security measures.

         The boy, who was five years old when sexually assaulted in February and March, was raped by the school's cleaning staff members during school hours in the bathroom near his classroom.  The child who was locked inside the toilet during his ordeal contracted herpes and a bacterial infection after being sodomized.

        The family's lawyer Andi Asrun emphasized that the boy's parents believe the school should have been aware of the boy's absence from class, and his teachers should have noticed that he was in distress when he rejoined the class.

        At home, his mother suspected something had gone wrong because the boy, who used to be cheerful, had suddenly retrieved into a shell, and he had several nightmares and spoke in his sleep pleading to be left alone and not to be hurt.
    The child, identified by the initials AK, told his mother about the rape only after his mother repeatedly convinced him that she had the power to protect him. She even told him that she knew Captain America personally and she could ask the superhero to come and help him.

        "Please call Captain America Mom," he was quoted by his aunty, who sought anonymity.  He then revealed details to his mom that he was bitten and hurt several times by the cleaning staff members, including a woman who told him that he was a naughty boy that deserved the punishment.

        After the attack, he tried to avoid going to the toilet, but one day when he desperately needed to go to the toilet, he first wanted to make sure that no cleaning staff was there. Unfortunately, he was locked in the toilet by the young female cleaning staff, Afriska, and soon a man came and raped him while Afriska held the kid.

        The Jakarta police have arrested the two cleaning staff, Agung and Frizkiawan, who admitted their crimes and have been proven to have the same bacterial infection that the boy had contracted.

          Afriska, however, was released as she denied offering any assistance in the rapes. The Jakarta Police's spokesman Senior Commissioner Rikwanto noted that the information from the victim alone was not strong enough to detain Afriska.

         The victim's mother suspected that there might be more people involved in the crimes happening in the school as it is not yet known from whom the boy contracted herpes. As part of the police investigation, some 28 cleaning staff of JIS were sent to the Jakarta police hospital to check for possible herpes infection.

          The boy's parents have filed a civil lawsuit against the school and the Education and Culture Ministry.
     "We have filed a lawsuit against JIS as defendant I and the Education and Culture Ministry as defendant II," stated the parents' lawyer O.C. Kaligis on April 21, 2014.

         Besides being negligent in protecting the child, the Jakarta International School has been operating the kindergarten illegally because the Indonesian Education and Culture Ministry's Letter No. 0348/0/1977, gave permission to the prestigious school to set up only elementary, junior, and senior high schools, but not a kindergarten.  
    The lawyer has also filed a civil lawsuit against the ministry for being negligent in supervising the international school, which has opened a kindergarten without a permit.

         Strangely, when the ministry wanted to inspect JIS following a complaint relating to sexual assault, the JIS security personnel did not allow the team to enter the school.

         "The school (JIS) strictly denied entry to the team on the pretext that the team did not have a permit from the school's foundation," Kaligis pointed out.
    The education and culture ministry has ordered the JIS to close down the kindergarten as of April 21 for operating illegally. But, JIS Principal Tim Carr remarked that they were unsure if the kindergarten grade needed a license, as his school already had a permit from the Directorate General of Primary and Secondary Education to operate the elementary school.

         The Jakarta Metropolitan Police on April 23 announced that it investigated the sodomy case with a possibility of imposing criminal charges on the school management.
     Senior Commissioner Rikwanto stated that based on the education ministry's evaluation, the JIS pre-school had been operating without a permit, and so, it is believed to have violated the law on the national system of education.

         Rikwanto added that police investigators will question a number of witnesses from the JIS, including teachers, the school principal and the foundation that operates the school of international standard.

        In addition to the permit issue, Rikwanto pointed out that the police will also investigate possible negligence by the teachers in supervising their pre-school children, when they were responsible for the supervision of the children while they were in the school.

      "Teachers should know the situation and condition of their children well, when they come or leave the school, eat, take a break or go to the lavatory," he asserted.

         Meanwhile, previously Agung and Frizkiawan alias Awan were detained by the Jakarta police and charged with violation of Law No. 23/2002 on child protection, facing a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

        Indonesia's National Commission for the Protection of Children (Komnas PA) had urged the authorities to impose heavier penalties against the criminals, insisting that a sentence of 15 years in jail was too lenient.

         "Komnas PA will recommend to the Parliament's Commission III to amend Law No. 23/2002 on Child Protection to impose heavier punishment on the perpetrators," Arist Merdeka Sirait, the Komnas PA chairman, said recently.

         The punishment for those committing sexual offences against children should be a minimum of 20 years in jail and a maximum of a life sentence.

      He said the school management had been negligent, and therefore, heavy sanctions must be imposed.

      "The school had failed to protect its student. The school's negligence caused a kindergarten student to suffer a sexual attack. The school should be accountable in line with the Law on Child Protection's Article 154," he noted.  
      "This school had good credibility so far, but, in fact, it was rotten inside. This case indicated that they did not effectively test teachers and other employees working inside the school before recruiting them," he said.

          The raising of the maximum punishment against those who raped the child had also been voiced by the Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar, the Minister of Education and Culture Muhammad Nuh and the National Police Chief General Sutarman.      
    "We are all deeply concerned about the incident. We condemn it. It is an intolerable act," Minister Linda Gumelar said.

          The Ministry of Education and Culture had formed a team to investigate and handle the sodomy case. "I am deeply sad and deplore this sad and embarrassing case in an international school," Minister Nuh said.      
     The molestation case at the JIS, Nuh added, had tarnished the education field as it occurred in a school with an international standard of education, which caused Indonesia's education sector to be seen as unsafe as even a reputed school cannot protect its students.

        Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare Agung Laksono recently said the JIS security system should be audited following the sodomy case.

        "We have asked Education and Culture Minister Mohammad Nuh to decree the implementation of a clear security standard system to protect students," Agung Laksono said.

          JIS spokesperson Daniarti Wusono stated in a release recently that the school security will be audited and the American, Australian, and British embassies will be involved in the audit.

         She claimed that after the case came to light, the school had improved its security arrangements and conducted an internal investigation into the case.

         While the investigation of the sodomy case is still going on, the Indonesian people have been again shocked by the announcement issued by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which is seeking the public's assistance to identify alleged victims of a suspected international child predator, William James Vahey, 64.    
   Vahey had reportedly admitted molesting boys his entire life and said he gave the minors sleeping pills prior to the molestation.
    The FBI asked for the public's help to identify at least 90 potential victims of Vahey, who worked at 10 American and other international schools abroad for more than four decades before committing suicide on March 21, 2014, in Minnesota.
     The child predator had been employed in international schools in many countries, such as Iran (1976-78), Saudi Arabia (1980-1992), London (2009-2013), Nicaragua (2013-March 2014) and in Jakarta International School from 1992 to 2002.

          Established in 1951, the Jakarta International School, with students of various nationalities, is considered as one of the best schools overseas for preparing students for American university entrance.  
     The school has tight security measures, reportedly including a three-meter-high "blast wall," a "boom gate" in front of the school, and protective security film over exterior windows to anticipate terrorists' attacks.
     The school also has a strong and tall security fence, with guards checking cars before they enter the premises. Even parents of the students have to show special passes issued by the JIS before entering the school's premises. However, it seems that such a tight security was used by certain criminals as their "safe haven" to molest some students. ***1***
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EDITED BY INE
(T.F001/A/BESSR/A/A. Abdussalam) 23-04-2014 23:28:51