F

ear has kept the family that alleged that a police officer sexually abused their 5-year-old son from returning to their home in Ciracas, East Jakarta.

Their neighbors have allegedly called them liars, accusing them of causing a commotion in the poor and relatively quiet neighborhood.

At the recommendation of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA), the family has been living with relatives in West Jakarta since filing a formal police report on Sunday.

Komnas PA secretary-general Samsul Ridwan said on Thursday that commission officials would escort the family back home in the next few days.

“We will meet the family on Friday to give moral support so that they can be prepared to go back to the neighborhood,” Samsul said.

The police have said that it would be safe for the family to return. “We have checked that the residents have no longer been discussing the issue, especially after the police named two suspects in the case,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said on Wednesday.

The boy, identified as F, was allegedly sexually abused by two adult neighbors. One is an officer of the National Police.

The boy told his mother that his rectum hurt, saying that two men, whom he identified as “Uncle Tall” and “Uncle Big Eyes”, liked to play with his genitals.

Upon investigation, the mother learned that her son frequently visited the home of one of the men.

She reported the allegations to the East Jakarta Police, who then referred the boy to the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta, for a medical evaluation, which indicated no irregularities.

The mother sought a second opinion from doctors at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM), who confirmed that the boy had been repeatedly sexually assaulted.

As police came to question the suspects, local residents gathered outside the victim’s home, chastising the family for spreading lies. The family fled, filing a report with Komnas PA.

The neighborhood of Gang Damai, an alley in the Cibubur subdistrict of Ciracas, has been exceptionally quiet in recent days, according to residents.

The densely populated neighborhood was deserted on Wednesday, with few people seen outside.

Most of the families that live in Gang Damai are relatives of the suspects who have been angered that the police detained the two men.

Neighborhood leader Yunus, who allegedly was among those attempting to intimidate the family, could not be contacted for an interview on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Meanwhile, neighbors kept their lips sealed when asked about the case. “I don’t know, I only heard about the case, but I don’t know about the details,” a woman who declined to be named said on Wednesday.

University of Indonesia sociologist Otho Hernowo Hadi said that residents of densely populated
areas tended to be permissive toward violence, including sexual violence. “They will be more permissive if the perpetrator is an important figure in the community.”

“Poor people tend to be indifferent toward what happened in their surroundings,” he said. (fzm/cor)