B

ambang Suhermanto, the head of a neighborhood unit in Gang Lele in Klender, Jatinegara, East Jakarta, is still lamenting the death of a 9-year-old boy in his neighborhood who was killed by his mother.

On Feb. 28, the mother, identified by the initials RP, turned herself over to the police and asked them to check on her son whom she had left drowning in the bathroom. She said her son’s penis was decreasing in size after he had undergone two circumcisions and she was afraid that his condition would ruin his future.

“Had she told me about her concern over her son’s penis, I would have been able to assure her that it was normal. I have four sons who all experienced different results after undergoing circumcisions,” Bambang told The Jakarta Post over the weekend.

He said the family of four had been known as a well-mannered albeit introverted family since they began renting a house in the densely populated area on May 13, 2008. The neighborhood, which is dominated by small homes for rent, does not have regular community gatherings except for some occasional joint prayer gatherings with other
neighborhoods.

Only after the murder occurred, the father, Suparmin, told Bambang about his wife’s poor mental condition over the two months after their son had undergone a circumcision.

“He told me that she was not eating well and had refused to carry out her daily routines such as cooking and washing. He loved her so much that he handled all the household chores,” Bambang said.

During the past two weeks, there have been two homicides involving mothers and children in the capital city. On Feb. 13, another mother allegedly drowned her 2-year-old child in a community health center (puskesmas) in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta. The police later learned that the mother had been previously admitted to a mental hospital.

A home for over 10 million people at night and some 12 million in the daytime, the capital city has been criticized for its poor spatial planning, triggering stress among the residents.

A 2007 Health Ministry survey revealed that the number of residents with mental health problems in Jakarta had reached 14.1 percent, higher than the national figure, which had reached 11.6 percent.

Head of the city’s Health Agency, Dien Emawati, said the administration had tried to build close relationships with mothers and children through integrated health service posts in neighborhoods called posyandu. She said the posts had also functioned as the center for family consultation.

“The problem is that ‘posyandu’s’ have been under-utilized. Not many people are visiting them. ‘Posyandu’ activists can refer mental health patients to the puskesmas,” she told the Post.

She said the city had tried to provide psychiatrists at community health centers at the district level. The city has a total of 44 community health centers at the district level and almost 300 at the subdistrict level.

The agency also runs four mental health facilities and has appointed city-owned Duren Sawit Hospital in East Jakarta as well as the central government’s Soeharto Heerdjan Hospital in West Jakarta as referral hospitals.

“With the rising number of KJS [Jakarta Health Card] patients, I will consider adding psychiatric services at community health centers in subdistricts that have high rates of mental health problems, especially in areas with squatters and newcomers,” Dien said.

Bambang, who heads a neighborhood of 527 people, said that residents would usually try to solve their problems within their family circle first. They would consult with him when the problems had gotten bigger.

“It would be helpful if we had access to a professional psychologist at the nearby puskesmas. People could receive quick and affordable services,” he said.