Aunt suspects abuse in child's death

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Sat, 05/12/2007 7:37 AM  |  Jakarta

Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

With her fist held high in anger, Lies tried to suppress her rage at seeing her niece's dead body, saying she wanted to teach her sister in-law a lesson. Her niece was only two years old.

Speaking to journalists at the National Commission for Child Protection's headquarters, Lies said she was angered and confused by her brother's widow, Dewi Widianingsih, for her ignorance over the mysterious death of her own daughter.

""She (Dewi) didn't say anything about how Aqila died,"" she said.

Aqila Everlyne Ardelia died of unknown causes on April 14, at Bojong Gede, Depok. Lies said a member of Dewi's family, Rachmat Hardjarana, claimed Aqila had died from respiratory problems.

However, Lies said when she arrived at Dewi's house in Bojong Gede, after receiving a telephone call informing her of Aqila's death, she saw that her niece's body showed signs of abuse.

""There were foot-shaped bruises on her back near her waist,"" she said.

Lies and her brother Syarief Hardjarana showed journalists photographs of the bruises on Aqila's body, and one of her genital area, which was damaged and bruised.

""The worst thing is that we do not know the real story of Aqila's death. Her mother will not speak about what happened,"" Lies said.

The commission's secretary general, Arist Merdeka Sirait, claims the marks show indications of domestic violence and sexual abuse.

""There were bruises on her head, back and toes. Her genitals were damaged, there were bruises on her chest and she had split lips.""

""According to a forensic examination, Aqila died from injuries sustained from being struck with a blunt object,"" Arist said.

Lies and her brother reported their suspicions to the commission four days after their niece died. The commission accompanied them to the Depok Police precinct to file a report the same day.

The Depok Police exhumed Aqila's body on April 21, and carried out a post-mortem examination in order to determine the cause of death.

Police have questioned Dewi, as well as other witnesses, such as family members and neighbors, but are yet to name any suspects.

Lies said her family's relationship with their in-laws had been distant since the death of her brother, Rachmat, nine months ago from Stevens-Johnson syndrome.

""Every time we visited to take Aqila and her big sister out for a treat, she would deliberately take the children out so we could not meet them,"" she said.

Syarief said he was the first to hear the news of the child's death. ""I received a telephone call from someone claiming to be a neighbor. She told me that Aqila had died because of breathing difficulties at around 4 p.m.,"" he said.

""The person on the other line sounded threatened and was worried I was an interrogator.""

Syarief said he came to Bojong Gede around 5 p.m. and saw that his niece had bruises on her body.

""After that we decided to report to the commission,"" he said.

Lies said that she just wanted to know the real cause of her niece's death.

""We just want to know the truth,"" she said.

Arist said the evidence pointed to abuse.

""However, we cannot jump to conclusions, as the case is being investigated.""

In 2006, some 1,124 cases of violence against children were reported to the commission. Psychological violence was the most common form of abuse, accounting for 40.12 percent of cases, while sexual violence accounted for 37 percent and physical violence 21.98 percent.

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