Eleven employees of a childcare facility in Indonesia have been sentenced to prison after an investigation uncovered widespread mistreatment of children, with parents questioning whether the punishments are sufficient for the harm inflicted on their families.
The defendants, all women, received jail terms of two to three years from a court in Yogyakarta on Wednesday. The case has drawn national attention since April, when allegations of abuse at the centre prompted police intervention and its eventual closure.
According to a report by Channels Television, the investigation followed the circulation of surveillance footage showing toddlers, many below two years old, restrained with pieces of cloth while lying on the floor in nappies. Police subsequently estimated that more than 50 of the roughly 100 children enrolled at the facility had experienced maltreatment.
Authorities also discovered about 20 children in a room measuring three metres by three metres. During questioning, the workers reportedly admitted restraining some children, claiming they wanted to prevent them from disturbing others. They also pointed to inadequate staffing at the centre.
Judge Sunaryanto ruled that the defendants had been proven guilty of participating in the abuse and neglect of children, as well as repeated acts of violence against them.
The verdicts have drawn criticism from some parents. Imedia Dwi Anjani, whose four-year-old son attended the daycare, told AFP, as cited by Channels Television, that the affected children required substantial therapy and that the prison terms handed down did not adequately reflect their suffering.
Another parent, Noorman Windarto, previously alleged that his son was restrained and repeatedly hospitalised with pneumonia while attending the centre. He also reported that his daughter sometimes returned home with bruises.
The facility’s principal and the head of the foundation that operated it were arrested alongside the workers in April. Their cases are scheduled for separate proceedings at a later date.
