http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/indonesian-cleric-questioned-over-acid-punishment/351492
January 07, 2010 Dessy Sagita Indonesian Cleric Questioned Over Acid Punishment An Islamic council leader in Lebak, Banten, is facing police questioning for allegedly pouring acid onto the hands of four of his young disciples as a form of punishment. Speaking on Thursday, Warunggunung Police Chief Adj. Comr. Maiyusri said that detectives were questioning Ustad Deden, who leads the Warunggunung branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), as well as an undisclosed number of Deden's subordinates. All have been declared suspects in the case. The incident, which occurred last week, left four of the suspect's victims with burned hands. The four victims were identified as Bahrul Ulum, 18, Herman, 15, Heriana, 15, and Sholeh, 19. "Investigations are ongoing," Maiyusri said, adding that Deden was being questioned in accordance with Article 351 of the Criminal Code on torture and Article 80 of the 2002 Child Protection Law regarding acts of cruelty toward children. The torture charge carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison, while the child cruelty offense carries a maximum of three-and-a-half years. Maiyusri said that Deden was questioned about why he had hydrochloric acid in his home, where he had purchased it from and why it had been used as a form of punishment. Police suspect the incident was triggered when Deden's son reported to his father that he had lost his cellphone after staying over at his friend's place. Deden called the four boys - all of whom were students at his Koranic learning center - to his home. They were then interrogated by Arif, a relative of Deden, and reportedly insisted that they had not taken the phone and had even helped Deden's son look for it. Maiyusri said Deden then allegedly asked all four boys to undergo a test of honesty. After uttering an incantation over a bottle of mineral water, he then proceeded to instruct the boys to drink from the bottle. According to Maiyusri, Deden told the boys that the "magic water" would protect them from punishment if they were telling the truth and had not stolen the phone. Deden then allegedly instructed his subordinates to pour the hydrochloric acid onto the boys' hands as part of the test. Maiyusri said the boys were rushed to a local clinic to treat the burns on their hands, but later had to be taken to Depok for emergency medical treatment. "The boys were somewhat lucky in that they rinsed their hands immediately and, of course, there was less than a quarter of the acid left in the unlabeled bottle found in Deden's house," Maiyusri added. The boys' parents did not immediately report the case to police because they were focused on their children's recoveries, but filed a complaint with Warunggunung Police when they learned that the injuries would cause permanent disfigurement. Arist Merdeka Sirait, secretary general of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak), said the incident was criminal and must not be tolerated. He said that Deden's irrational behavior had cost the children their future as they could now be permanently disabled. "He had no right to punish them in the manner that he did," Arist said, adding that it was regrettable a senior member of the local community could resort to such cruelty. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
