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Man arrested in illegal abortion clinic raid in Bali
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Bali Police hold a press conference in this undated photo. (Courtesy of/Bali Police)
T
he Bali Police have arrested a man on suspicion of running an illegal abortion clinic in Badung, Bali, following a raid on May 8. The suspect was previously convicted twice of similar crimes.
Adj. Sr. Comr. Ranefli Dian Candra, the deputy chief of the Bali Police special crime investigation division, said Ketut Arik Wiantara, 53, had allegedly carried out at least 1,338 abortions since 2006 at his clinic.
Arik was sentenced in 2006 to 2.5 years for the crime. He was sentenced to six years in prison in 2009 after a woman died during a botched abortion.
“After he was released from prison, he started another abortion clinic in 2020 in a different location,” Ranefli said on Monday
Arik, who claimed to be a dentist, allegedly ran the abortion clinic in a house on Jl. Raya Padang Luwih, Dalung in North Kuta.
Ranefli said that the raid was conducted following a tip off. At the clinic, police seized medical equipment including ultrasonography (USG) equipment. Police also found the clinic’s financial records.
“He charged his patients Rp 3.8 million [US$255] per abortion,” Ranefli said.
According to the police, the suspect confessed to the crime, saying he reopened his abortion clinic to help many young women who were not ready for motherhood.
The suspect told police that he learned the abortion method from the internet and bought all the medical equipment online.
“His customers were mostly teenagers. However, some of them are also married couples,” Ranefli said.
The suspect will be charged under multiple provisions of the Medical Practice Law and Health Law. If found guilty, he could be sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment, Ranefli said. (dre)
