After more than a week, a father who left his children unsupervised reunited with his family Wednesday.
Dadan and his wife Marsinem aka Yanti, left their rented house in Sukmajaya, Depok, last Saturday, leaving behind their four children, Windy, 8, Risky, 5, Lina, 3 and Siti, 5 months.
Chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) Seto Mulyadi, who accompanied Dadan’s reuniting, said that the man, who worked as a public minivan driver, had no intention to neglect his children.
“Dadan said he had left his house to visit his relatives in Tasikmalaya, West Java, to borrow money to pay off debts,” Seto told The Jakarta Post.
“He was too ashamed to tell his wife about his plan.
“Yanti, who was unaware of her husband’s whereabouts, left the house looking for Dadan,” Seto said.
Yanti and Dadan left their rented home in Sukmajaya, Depok, on Dec. 19, leaving their four children at home. They had also reportedly neglected to entrust their children to relatives or neighbors. Some neighbors initially suspected the couple left their children to escape from difficulties in paying off mounting debts.
They reported the case to the police, who took custody of the four children. After being looked after by neighbors for several days, Depok Social Services relocated the children to an orphanage in Cimanggis, Depok.
Seto suggested to Depok Police to assume a humanitarian approach on the case.
“The children are very happy to have their parents back,” Seto said, adding that he had talked with both Dadan and Yanti.
He found that both did not intentionally leave their children behind.
“It seems like the [children] have not suffered trauma.”
On Saturday, Yanti arrived at the orphanage to meet her children. She then turned herself in to Depok Police officers, but they delayed the arrest.
Dadan turned himself in to the police Tuesday evening.
Yanti said her family was living in poverty. She said that they could not send their eldest daughter Wendy to school as they could not afford it.
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