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forensic pathologist testified on Wednesday at the South Jakarta District Court that the medical examination results of a kindergartner who was allegedly sexually abused at the Jakarta International School (JIS) could not link the suspected cleaners to the crime.

'€œThe point of a forensics examination on the victim is to try to find DNA samples of the suspects on his body so that there is a clear link between the two. This is why sexual abuse cases are extremely hard to prove,'€ said Ferryal Basbeth, head of the forensic medicine department at the private Islamic YARSI University in Central Jakarta.

Ferryal, who has worked on sexual abuse cases for almost two decades, gave her testimony as an expert witness for the five cleaners employed by PT Integrated Service Solutions (ISS) '€” Afrischa Setyani, Virgiawan Amin, Zainal Abidin, Syahrial and Agun Iskandar '€” who were accused of committing sexual assaults on the victim on two occasions in a JIS restroom early this year.

She explained that normally police investigators asked hospitals to look for DNA samples of possible suspects during an examination of the victim in a sexual abuse case and it was odd that the police had not done so in this case.

'€œI recommend the panel of judges ask for the victim'€™s full medical records from all three hospitals,'€ she said.

The 6-year-old boy was examined at SOS Medika Klinik, Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) and the Pondok Indah Hospital (RSPI).

The SOS Medika Clinic'€™s examination results described the victim as testing positive for the antibodies of genital herpes, but through a procedure that was not recommended by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Meanwhile, the examination at RSCM showed no bruises or wounds in the victim'€™s rectum, but did reveal a bruise on his stomach.

The examination at RSPI, using the same procedure employed by SOS Medika, also showed the victim tested positive for genital herpes antibodies. However, it also indicated the victim suffered from pus and inflammation of the rectum and anus.

However, Ferryal said she highly doubted the symptoms were caused by sexual abuse. Based on her experience, slow-healing wounds in his anus would have been apparent since it was prone to infection.

Separately, the alleged victim'€™s mother told The Jakarta Post that the RSPI doctor told her that there were only three possible causes for inflammation.

'€œThe doctor told us that the pus and inflammation could only be caused by a bacterial digestive infection, a colon infection or an infection from anal sexual activities. However, he could not find any infections,'€ she said over the phone.

She explained that the doctor, Muhammad Lutfi Syafii, referred her son to another doctor in the hospital to confirm that he had contracted a sexually transmitted disease (STD).

According to a copy of the medical examination result, Lutfi prescribed the victim with an oral antibiotic called metronidazole, also known as Flagyl.

The CDC states that it was normally prescribed for those who contracted trichomoniasis, an STD caused by a parasite.