The case is the biggest single example of alleged child violence in Indonesia, according to child rights activists, and sparked front-page headlines in mainstream media, viral social media coverage and widespread condemnation from rights groups and lawmakers.
In light of the arrests, the government has promised more oversight and regulation and better coordination between central and regional authorities.
“We hope Yogyakarta can serve as a starting point for a national review to ensure that all daycare centres in Indonesia meet child protection standards to the highest possible standard,” Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Arifah Choiri Fauzi, whose ministry oversees daycare centres, told Reuters.
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Little Aresha is one of the more expensive child daycare centres in Yogyakarta, a city of nearly four million people and a cultural tourism destination. It charged as much as 1 million rupiah (US$55.74) per month, according to Diyah of Indonesia’s child protection agency, in a city where the average monthly income is about 3.2 million rupiah.
Since news of the case was made public, the centre has been vandalised with spray-painted profanities on the walls and windows.
Diyah said the allegations came to light when one of the caregivers turned whistleblower.
She said caregivers told investigators the children were restrained under the orders of the centre’s principal as part of a strategy to maximise the number of children to staff.
The five-room centre, located in a house, was cramped with as many as 30 children packed into one 3m by 3m (yard) room, she said. Caregivers were not trained and they handled 10 children each, she added. The government’s staffing guidelines, which are not binding, recommend one caregiver to four children.
In Indonesia, convictions for child abuse and neglect carry maximum sentences of five years imprisonment and a 100 million rupiah fine.
Police also alleged the centre violated the national education law by operating without a licence, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
