Police Request Travel Bans for 4 JIS Teachers After KPAI Assault Allegation

The Jakarta International School. (JG Photo/Yudhi Sukma Wijaya)

Jakarta. Jakarta Police on Monday called on the government to prevent four Jakarta International School teachers from leaving the country after the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection, or KPAI, which is not a law enforcement agency, alleged that teachers had been involved in the sexual assault of a 6-year-old student.

“The travel ban requests have been filed [to the Justice and Human Rights Ministry] regarding four people, and they will not be deported,” Jakarta Police Chief Insp. Gen. Dwi Priyatno said on Monday, as quoted by the city’s official news site, BeritaJakarta.com.

The school has been subject to national media scrutiny — disproportionately so, the school has argued — following the arrest of six janitors employed by outside cleaning contractor ISS over the alleged rape of a 6-year-old in the JIS kindergarten bathroom. One of the the suspects killed himself in custody.

Since the scandal broke, various bureaucracies have cracked down on the school over seemingly unrelated technicalities. Immigration officials said they would deport 20 of the school’s foreign kindergarten teachers over immigration issues — they were registered as elementary school teacher, not as early childhood educators — although the travel bans now requested by police would reduce the number to be deported to 16.

The Education Ministry said in April that it would close the entire early childhood education program, which includes the kindergarten, over a permit issue: the kindergarten was registered as part of the elementary school rather than separately.

JIS lawyer Harry Pontoh told the Jakarta Globe that the requirement for a separate permit was introduced long after the school received permission to run a kindergarten. He said the school was working with the education and immigration offices to resolve the issues before the next school year began.

Dwi did not reveal the identities of the four teachers the travel bans would target.

“Only teachers who are suspects will not be deported,” he said.

But no teachers, or any direct employee of the school, have been named suspects.

“This case needs perseverance and carefulness,” Dwi said. “It also needs time, because this is not a case of theft with clear evidence and witnesses to name a suspect. We gather the evidence, as we can’t name a suspect without proof.”

Harry told the Globe that the KPAI had overstepped its bounds in making the allegations of abuse by a teacher public.

“They are not investigators. How could they say there are indications that some of the teachers were involved when this [investigation] is still ongoing?” he said.

On Friday, he speculated that the commission might be motivated by “hatred against foreigners.”

“We do not know what is the agenda of the KPAI,” he said. “If they have any information they should go to the police.

“We are really thinking right now of the probability of taking legal action against the KPAI,” he added.

By Benjamin Soloway on 08:04 pm Jun 10, 2014