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orensic experts are urging law enforcers to heed results of scientific examinations by credible professionals in order to avoid charging innocent people in child sexual abuse cases.

The experts said that to date, the police, prosecutors and judges had often ignored scientific procedures to speed up the legal process due to outside pressure from the alleged victims, the public or the media.

Psychologist Irwanto from Atma Jaya University in South Jakarta gave an example of a case involving a scavenger named Siswanto aka Robot Gedek who was found guilty of killing street children.

'€œIn 1997, Siswanto was sentenced to death for sodomizing and mutilating children in Greater Jakarta on the basis of testimony from only one witness, who was later tried and sentenced for similar crimes,'€ the professor said at a recent Seminar of Scientific Crime Investigation held by the National Police Commission (Kompolnas).

Irwanto was referring to Baekuni or Babeh, the only one of 20 witnesses to testify in the Central Jakarta District Court that he saw Siswanto slashing the wrists and legs of a victim and putting the victim in a plastic bag. He also told the court that he did not see Siswanto killing the victim.

Despite Siswanto'€™s bizarre behavior during the police investigation and in court, the police and the judges also failed to give him the opportunity to be examined by independent psychiatrists.

While experts such as psychologists are often invited to deliver the results of their examinations, Irwanto said some law enforcers set aside such analysis and formed their own opinions.

'€œI was once appointed as an expert in a sexual abuse trial of a female teen in West Jakarta. The victim [said she] was sexually assaulted by her friend in her school'€™s health unit room when she felt sick during the day. She then attacked the perpetrator with her taekwondo skills. The boy was injured and brought the case to court,'€ he said.

Irwanto said that during one of the hearings, he delivered his evaluation, which supported the girl'€™s testimony. However, the judge later told him to rectify his testimony as he believed that the girl attacked the boy because he had refused to be her boyfriend.

Irwanto said he refused to do so and maintained his testimony.

'€œThe girl ended up losing the legal battle and was put under city arrest,'€ he said.

Meanwhile, forensic doctor Ferryal Basbeth said the police often made conclusions too quickly.

Ferryal cited a case involving a 9-month-old baby identified only as AA who died in 2013 in East Jakarta, allegedly after being raped by her uncle, identified as Z.

'€œAA was brought by her family to a nearby doctor when she suddenly had difficulty breathing. Through a further examination, the doctor observed the unusual shape of her anus. The doctor then reported this to the police,'€ Ferryal explained.

At Kramat Jati National Police Hospital in East Jakarta, AA was checked and found to be positive for Chlamydia trachomatis, a sexually transmitted infection that can also be passed on through labor.

'€œThe police asked the hospital to perform anal swaps to check the family members, except the mother. When they found the same bacteria in Z and AA, the police concluded the case to be a rape,'€ said the doctor, who was appointed as an expert by the Jakarta Legal Aid Foundation (LBH Jakarta) during the trial.

He said the police claimed they had used a thorough scientific method in finding the perpetrator as there was no witness for the case.

'€œThey should have checked the mother too,'€ he said.

Kompolnas commissioner Adrianus Meliala said law enforcers should handle sexual abuse cases against children carefully despite pressure from the public and media.

'€œThere is no deadline for handling sexual abuse cases, so the police should take their time [to ensure an accurate investigation],'€ he said. (rbk)