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Tasikmalaya bullying incident signals failure to protect children
“Turns out, we are still incapable of protecting children”, a national child protection commissioner has said in response to the incident in Tasikmalaya.
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A fifth grader recently died in hospital in Tasikmalaya, West Java after suffering from what authorities suspect to be complications from typhoid fever connected to a depressive episode. The boy was previously bullied into engaging in lewd acts with a cat on video, which had since gone viral. (Shutterstock/-)
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recent bullying incident that was followed by the death of a fifth grader indicates continuous neglect by parties responsible for child protection and highlights fundamental problems with Indonesia’s social services mechanism, child protection advocates have asserted.
Last week, video footage of an 11-year-old boy engaging in lewd acts with a cat spread online and horrified the Indonesian public, even prompting responses from President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who on Saturday called on the people to do their part in eliminating harassment.
The boy, from West Java’s Tasikmalaya regency, was seen in a 50-second video clip being coerced by friends to engage in bestiality. The juvenile perpetrators proceeded to share the footage among friends before it quickly went viral within the local community.
Traumatized and ashamed, the boy did not disclose the incident to his parents and refused to eat or drink for several days. He was described by his family as becoming gloomy and distracted a week before he was admitted to hospital on July 18 amid rapidly declining health. He died the following day.
Adi Widodo, head of health services at the SMC Regional General Hospital told Kompas.com that his death was caused by complications rooted in a depressive episode.
“[His death] was caused by suspected typhoid fever [...] and complications from it indicate the possibility of a depressive episode or encephalopathy disorder [altered mental state manifesting in loss of cognitive abilities and consciousness], as well as fever complications,” Adi said on Friday.
“Health officers put in their best efforts, but the boy could not be saved.”
