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he parents of IA, 27, have been shackling him at their house in West Bulotadaa subdistrict, Sipatana district, Gorontalo city, since last year, fearing he would endanger himself or others.

His mother, Ani Adam, 57, said her youngest son had for the third time jumped into a well at the back of their house. '€œWhen the '€˜disorder'€™ occurs, he is capable of destroying anything: furniture, television sets, chairs, plates,'€ Ani said recently.

Ani said IA, the youngest of four siblings, began to exhibit strange behavior in 2006, often shouting on the street and burning his clothes.

Fearing he would hurt others, IA was chained, but permitted to move around the house.

When people visited him in his room, IA was able to communicate well, and even made jokes.

'€œI became like this after learning [Islamic teachings] tasawuf [spiritualism] makrifat [highest knowledge]. I was given drinking water so that I am protected and not repeatedly disturbed,'€ IA told The Jakarta Post.

Ani said his son had getting progressively better after receiving medical treatment from the Puskesmas (community health center). Still, she said, her family would not yet release him from the chain that shackled his feet. '€œWe know that shackling is not allowed, but who would be responsible if he rages and endangers others?'€ Ani said.

IA is just one of many mentally ill people who are being shackled by family members in Gorontalo province.

Masfawaty Adjuh, head of the local health agency'€™s special health service section, said the local administration had been trying to crack down on the practice since 2010.

She said that of the 453 people who had experienced '€œmental disturbances'€ in Gorontalo from 2011 to 2014, 83 had been shackled. Sixty-three of them, she said, had been unshackled.

'€œThey were released by their respective families after being considered capable of socializing with other people,'€ said Musfawaty, adding that some had even found employment.

She said family support was instrumental in determining a mentally-ill patient'€™s recovery prospects, and that it was important for families to understand that mental disability was not grounds for exile.

Shackling, she said, would only worsen a patients'€™ condition, adding that it could also lead to physical deformities like the shrinking of the leg.

Masfawaty said shackling was also attributable to poverty, a dearth of psychiatrists and a lack of adequate facilities for patients with mental disorders.

She said just one psychiatrist was available, and that the doctor had to be brought in from another region.

To make the most of limited resources, she said her office had set up mental health services in nine hospitals, 93 Puskesmas and 247 supporting Puskesmas.

'€œThe psychiatrist is still hired from outside the region, however. Hopefully in the future both facilities and paramedics can be improved,'€ she said.