Jakarta Police found holes full of the bones of fetuses at two illegal abortion clinics in the Menteng area of Central Jakarta on Thursday, indicating dozens of fetuses had been killed at the clinics.

The two clinics, on Jl. Cimandiri and Jl. Cisadane, were sealed by police on Wednesday.

In raids on the clinics, police found special holes to throw dead fetuses into.

Police found 10 to 15 individual bones in each hole,, indicating the fetuses were above three months old. Police also found expired medication and  unsanitary medical tools at the clinics.

Police would carry out another raid on Friday at the two locations, Jakarta Police environment division chief Sr. Adj. Comr. Adi Vivid told journalists on Thursday, adding that officers would also carry out raids on four other clinics allegedly conducting abortions.

Police named 10 people as suspects allegedly involved in illegal abortions, comprising one medical doctor, one fake doctor, three doctors' assistants and a number of middle-men tasked with courting customers.

One doctor, initialed MNN, is a general practitioner who does not have the required license to conduct abortions, Adi said.

Meanwhile M, the fake doctor, graduated only from junior high school.

Police are still on the hunt for MM, the manager of Cimandiri clinic who allegedly taught M to work like a doctor while also carrying out abortions.

The suspects have been charged under the Health Law, and could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison.

The patients could also face a maximum four years' imprisonment, as abortion is  banned by the  criminal code.

Abortion fees

Abortion fees vary according to the maturity of the pregnancy, according to police findings.

An abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy costs between Rp 2.5 million ($186) and Rp 3 million, but the price rises the longer the pregnancy.

In a text message suspected to  be between a patient and the clinic management, police read what appeared to be negotiations for the price of an abortion for a woman who was six months pregnant.

"The clinic charged about Rp 10 million for the abortion," Adi said.

The middle-men receive around Rp 500,000 for each patient.

Before accepting potential patients, clinics screen them by inviting them to a meeting first. At the meeting, clinic officials determines whether the patient is genuine and needs their service or not, Adi said.

Police also found a number of complaints from the patients to the clinic through text messages, including one patient complaining about bleeding after the abortion.

"The patients are afraid to report their complaints to police because they know that their acts are in violation of the law," Adi added. (rin)(+)

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