Police in Depok continued Monday their search for a man who abandoned his children earlier this month, enlisting the help of his wife Marsinem, also known as Yanti.
Officers from the Depok Police’s Women and Children Unit extended their search for Dadan, a public minivan driver, to Kampung Rambutan and Ciracas in East Jakarta.
They were working on information from a former employer of Dadan’s that he was staying at a friend’s house in the area.
Yanti and Dadan left their rented home in Sukmajaya, Depok, on Dec. 19, leaving behind their four children, ranging in age from five months to 8 years.
They had also reportedly neglected to notify relatives or neighbors that the children were home alone.
Acting on reports filed by neighbors with the police, the Depok Social Services Agency then took the children to the Fathur Khoir orphanage in Cimanggis, Depok.
Yanti returned late Saturday night, seeking the return of her children. She later surrendered herself to police, accompanied by several neighbors.
Depok Police Women and Children Unit head Adj. Comr. Rohana said Monday that Yanti had been named a witness in the case of child neglect.
She added police would take a humane approach to the case.
“Jailing the parents will mean depriving the children of a family once again,” Rohana said as quoted by okezone.com.
“At the Women and Children Unit, we focus on the humane aspect of things. Would the children be happier in an orphanage?”
She added her office was also investigating the reason for the abandonment.
“They said they left their kids because they owed Rp 4 million to a migrant worker agent,” she said.
National Commission for Child Protection chairman Seto Mulyadi said the mother should not be charged if her motive was purely financial.
“It’s better to settle this in a family way and ease the burden on the parents,” he said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.
Yanti claimed the family was poor and could not even afford to send the oldest daughter, at the age of 8, to school.
