Other Publications
Kids lose a year at school, face 3 in jail
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 07/03/2009 2:58 PM | Headlines
Abdul Rohim bin Ali, 13, has charming physical features with his dark-skin and wide endearing grin. But that afternoon his reason for smiling rang an ironic tone as he was one of 10 children facing trial for gambling charges.
The children, who add to their families' incomes by shining shoes at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport after school, were apprehended by airport police on May 31 during an operation to rid the airport of illegal trades.
The arrest has caused Abdul stress and grief, and flushed one year of his primary education down the drain.
"Now this one here is unlucky," he said pointing to his friend, Sarifudin bin Basar, 11, who was arrested with him. "He never went to the airport before, but that day I asked him to join me in my daily shoe-shining job. Who would've guessed he wouldn't go home for a month!"
The 10 children were still being detained at Tangerang penitentiary before the district prosecutor finally let them go on June 27.
However, to some extent the damage had already been done. The boys, who were caught by police while playing heads-or-tails in between shining shoes, had faced rough treatment and missed their final primary school exams, costing them one year of school.
"The police shoved us around. They told us to lie facing the sun in the middle of the day, and talked to us harshly," said Irfan, one of the boys.
They were later sent to the Tangerang Police headquarters before being sent to the penitentiary, where they were detained alongside those detained on more serious charges such as drug offenses and theft.
But the worst is not over yet. The boys must still stand trial to determine their fate.
National Commission for Child Protection secretary-general Arist Merdeka Sirait said if found guilty the children could face up to three years in prison.
"They have been charged with article 303 of the criminal law regarding gambling, which is outrageous, since they are only kids and they were only fooling around," he said.
Arist and the children's lawyers will try to get the judge to settle the case in one day, to make things easier for the boys.
"They should be freed of all charges," Arist said. "A prison record would put their futures in jeopardy."
Acquitting the children were also recommended because their arrest had been dubious from the outset.
"The police couldn't find the coin they had allegedly used in the game, so they just took coins from the boys' to use as evidence," Arist said.
The unnecessarily long period the children had spent behind bars was another flaw in the case, he said.
"They should not have been held all that time without legal guardians or parental accompaniment.
"At most they should only have been detained for one day. The police should also have notified their parents and settled the matter in a more appropriate way for minor offenders," Arist said.
The children's parents were not notified of the arrest and only found out through word of mouth from those who witnessed it, he said. (dis)
What's On
- Franchise & Business Concept
11/13/2009 11/15/2009 Jakarta Convention Center - Indonesia Furniture Fair
11/14/2009 11/22/2009 Jakarta Convention Center - Indonesia Maternity & Baby Expo 2009
11/20/2009 11/22/2009 Jakarta Convention Center
- Festival of India
10/29/2009 12/15/2009 Balai Kartini & Umar Ismail Hall, Jakarta
- Best Dutch Books Designs
10/08/2009 11/12/2009 Erasmus Huis, Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav S-3, Kuningan, South Jakarta (Tel. 5241069) - Power of the Shape. Sculpture exhibition by Dolorosa Sinaga
10/29/2009 11/15/2009 Kendra Gallery of Contemporary Art, Bali Until Nov. 15 Jl. Drupadi No.88B, Basangkasa Seminyak, Bali - The Erased Time: Solo exhibition by FX Harsono
11/01/2009 11/14/2009 Galeri Nasional Indonesia, Central Jakarta
Anonymous (not verified) — Mon, 07/06/2009 - 8:48am
This scenario is bad in so many ways.
There is no evidence whatsoever that they committed the crime. Just because playing the gambling coin game requires the possession of a coin, it doesn’t imply that someone possessing a coin has played the gambling coin game. The cop must be intellectually handicapped to believe that it did (either that, or the cop is a sadist that likes abusing children). The judicial authorities must also be intellectually handicapped to not have immediately dropped the charges due to lack of evidence. Also, playing a coin game doesn’t imply that gambling is taking place.
Assuming they had committed the crime, they didn’t deserve to be incarcerated for it. If a punishment goes beyond the moral cost of the crime, it becomes a form of injustice created by the state. Punishments should reflect the damages done by the crime. If the students had committed the crime (which they probably didn’t), they would have caused little or no damage to individuals or society.
Imprisoning children and adolescents can make them more troublesome when they get out. They won’t be getting a proper education. Instead they will be getting lessons in how to commit crime from other prisoners. Their anger at society for their mistreatment would erode their social conscience. They are likely to get the mentality of ‘others don’t care about me therefore I shall not care about others’. They will find it harder to get a job (or get back into education) and are likely to resort to crime out of necessity.
The fact that they can’t progress to the next year of school due to not sitting exams shows a lack of compassion (and reason) from not just the judicial system but also the education system. If a student can’t sit their final exams (due to reasons beyond their control) they should be given ‘compassionate consideration’. This is when their performance throughout the school year is reviewed and if adequate, they would be allowed into the next year of schooling. Not allowing them into the next year is damaging not just to them but also Indonesia. It would mean an extra year of costs to their schooling and quite possibly one year less in the workforce.