T

he Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) is currently seeking more information regarding claims that another kindergarten pupil at the Jakarta International School (JIS) in Terogong, South Jakarta, was sexually abused on school property.

KPAI secretary-general Erlinda said that the second victim'€™s family had approached the KPAI although they had not revealed much about the incident in their report to the KPAI on Wednesday, aside from the fact that the victim was abused inside a classroom.

'€œWe are currently waiting on the victim'€™s medical tests because they have not disclosed any information other than the fact that the injuries the second victim suffered were similar to those described by the first victim,'€ Erlinda told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

The second sexual abuse case to have allegedly occurred in JIS involves a five-year-old kindergarten pupil, who was reportedly a classmate of the first victim.

According to the child'€™s testimony to the KPAI he was allegedly abused in a classroom, without any CCTV cameras, by a cleaning service staff member. The victim also claimed that he was abused repeatedly between January and March this year.

It is unclear whether the victim was abused by the same alleged perpetrator as in the first case.

Representatives from the KPAI and the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) visited the Jakarta Police women and child protection unit on Thursday to inform the police about the case.

'€œThe child described the physical injuries to us yesterday, and he is still receiving medical care,'€ KPAI commissioner Putu Elvina said at the Jakarta Police headquarters.

Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that they were awaiting the results of the joint investigation conducted by the LPSK and the KPAI before taking any further action.

'€œAs of now, no official police report has been made in relation to a second sexual abuse case. The LPSK and the KPAI have not reported the incident to the police yet as they are conducting their own closed investigation,'€ he said on Thursday.

Rikwanto urged the two institutions to seek the assistance of the police in their investigation.

Meanwhile, despite the KPAI'€™s report, JIS head Tim Carr said he could not comment on the case because it had not been confirmed. '€œWe have no further details to report on that yet. No formal notice has been given to us in relation to this [new] case,'€ Carr said to reporters outside the school gates on Thursday evening.

Carr also took questions about reports that a child molester, named William James Vahey, worked at JIS between 1992 and 2002. Vahey had taught at private international schools in nine countries, including as a social studies teacher at JIS between 1992 and 2002. He committed suicide on March 20 following the Federal Bureau of Investigation'€™s (FBI) investigation into him.

National Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Agus Rianto confirmed on Thursday that the Indonesian police were ready to cooperate with the FBI or Interpol with regard to Vahey.

When asked about how the JIS recruitment process managed to overlook Vahey'€™s status as a convicted child molester, Carr explained that it was more difficult to conduct background checks in the early 1990s than it was in the present due to the unavailability of options such as online checks back then.

Various media reports had claimed that JIS deputy head of school Stephen Druggan had left the country to avoid being questioned in relation to the case. Druggan, however, was present when Carr talked to reporters outside the JIS school gates. (dyl)