Thursday, July 2, 2015

BALI’S MISSING CHILD: 8 YEAR OLD ANGELINE (MAY 19, 2007 TO MAY 16, 2015) [WENT MISSING ON MAY 16, 2015 & BODY FOUND ON JUNE 10, 2015]



            Angeline, an 8 year old girl from Bali, Indonesia, went missing on May 16, 2015. Her body was found on June 10 that year. We, the comrades of Unit 1012: The VFFDP, will make her one of The 82 murdered children of Unit 1012, where we will not forget her. We also want to thank those people who showed support for Bali’s Missing Child and we congratulate you for compassion for murdered children.


Please Help Find Angeline: Bali's Missing Child
             We will post several news sources on Angeline’s case:


Chronology of violence against Angeline
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Thu, June 11 2015, 2:32 PM


8 year old Angeline of Bali went missing on May 16, 2015.
The Bali Police are questioning a number of people following the finding of the remains of Angeline, an 8-year-old girl, who was reported missing for nearly a month in Bali. Her remains were found buried in the backyard of her adoptive mother's house. Here are some media accounts that reveal signs of ill treatment that Angeline may have experience before her death.

May 16 2015

Angeline’s adoptive mother Margareith C Megawe reports the girl missing after she was last seen playing in front of the family home on Jl. Sedap Malam, Sanur, Denpasar, Bali, at 3 p.m.

May 17

Angeline's family creates a Facebook fanpage "Find Angeline-Bali's Missing Child".

May 18

Police question several witnesses to locate Angeline and track down Angeline's biological mother, Hamidah.

May 24

The National Commission on Child Protection (Komnas PA) visit Angeline's house and meet Margareith.

May 25

Bali Police chief Insp. Gen. Ronny F. Sompie forms a team to find Angeline.

May 26
Bali Police investigators quiz Margareith.

June 1

Officers from the Denpasar branch of the Community Services Center for the Protection of Women and Children (P2TP2A) visit Angeline's house, but Margareith refuses to meet them.

June 2

Police search the house but find no signs of Angeline.

June 3

Safe Childhood Foundation, the Bali branch of Sahabat Anak Foundation, and Komnas PA organize an event to distribute flyers on the missing girl in the neighborhood around Angeline's house.

June 5

Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform Minister Yuddy Chrisnandi pays a visit to Angeline's house but is turned away by the family's house guards.

June 6

Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise pays a visit to Angeline's house but fails to meet any of the family members.

June 10

Police unearth the decomposing remains of Angeline with her doll, wrapped in a bed cover. The body was buried under a heap of trash in between banana trees next to chicken cages.
An autopsy on Angeline's body finds that the cause of her death was head trauma. In the autopsy, the police find signs of violence, namely bruises on the face, neck, hands and legs. Police also find a burn wound from a cigarette butt on the right side of her back in addition to traces of plastic rope around the neck.

After three weeks of Angeline being reported missing and presumed dead, the police apprehend a former domestic helper, Agus who confesses to committing acts of violent against Angeline leading to her death. Police also detain Margareith. (dmr)
Source: Media accounts from Antara, Kompas and other local media.(+++)


Story behind murdered child Angeline's adoption
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | National | Thu, June 11 2015, 12:21 PM


8 year old Angeline of Bali went missing on May 16, 2015.
Hamidah, the biological mother of an 8-year-old girl named Angeline who was found dead in the backyard of her family’s home in Denpasar, Bali, cried hysterically upon seeing the body of her child at Sanglah General Hospital on Wednesday evening.

"Who killed you, child? Why were you killed? Your mother cannot accept that you are treated like that," Hamidah said as quoted by kompas.com.

"Mr. Policeman go and capture the killer of my daughter, Sir. Sentence them to death," said the woman, who hails from Banyuwangi, East Java.

Angelina was reported missing by her adoptive mother, Margareith, after she noticed that the child was no longer playing in front of her house a month ago at 3 p.m. local time. Her body was found buried in the backyard of her house Wednesday morning.

Hamidah explained that Angeline was her second of three children.

One of the victim's relatives, Supri, said that Angeline was adopted by Margareith when she was three days old. Hamidah was prohibited from meeting Angeline after the adoption based on an agreement between her and Margareith. Hamidah and Margareith had not met since the adoption either.

Supri explained that before the adoption, Hamidah and Margareith did not know each other. The two simply met at a clinic in Canggu, Bali.

Because Hamidah did not have any money to cover the cost of giving birth, Margareith extended help and adopted the baby. (hhr)


Angeline's death should be avenged through death penalty: Lawmaker
Dylan Amirio, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Archipelago | Thu, June 11 2015, 2:17 PM

 

8 year old Angeline of Bali went missing on May 16, 2015.
House of Representatives lawmaker Hidayat Nur Wahid has said that the people responsible for the murder of 8-year-old Angeline in Denpasar, Bali, should be given the death penalty for their “unspeakable action”.

Hidayat, who is a member of House commission VIII on social affairs and women’s empowerment, expressed his condolences for the death of the girl, whose decomposing body was found in the backyard of her adoptive mother’s home on June 10.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) lawmaker said the Child Protection Law should be revised in order to ensure greater protection for children and harsher punishment for child abusers.

“The possible revision of the law will be discussed by Commission VIII. We on the commission agree that the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry must be strengthened further to ensure the protection of Indonesian children,” Hidayat told reporters at the House complex in Jakarta on Thursday.

By suggesting the death penalty for those behind Angeline’s murder, Hidayat added that it would be a deterrent that could help lower the rate of child abuse and murder cases.

“Without punitive punishment, these kinds of tragedies can happen again and again. [Angeline’s case] is not the first major child abuse case we have seen,” he said.

Denpasar Police have arrested one person suspected of the murder: a former domestic helper who worked in Angeline’s home and who was fired two days after the girl went missing. (hhr)


8 year old Angeline of Bali went missing on May 16, 2015.

Bali killing sparks call for review of Indonesia's child protection laws

Eight-year-old girl believed to have been a victim of neglect before she was murdered
  • Jakarta Globe
  • Indonesia
  • June 15, 2015
The recent murder of an eight-year-old girl in Bali, who was believed to have been a victim of neglect before she died, has renewed calls for harsher punishments for child abusers in Indonesia.

Nearly a month after she disappeared, the search for Angeline ended in tragedy last Wednesday with the discovery of the little girl’s body buried in the backyard of her foster mother’s home in Denpasar, Bali.

A former domestic worker for the family, Agus, 25, has confessed to sexually assaulting the child before killing her and disposing of her body, police said.

His testimony subsequently lead to the arrest of Angeline’s foster mother, Margaret Christine Megawe, who had been named a suspect for child neglect.

The case has gripped the nation, inciting anger and regret over Angeline’s tragic life before her violent death.

Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), has called for harsher punishments for child sex offenders in light of the case, saying the current prison sentence of three to 15 years was not enough to protect children or halt the alarming increase in child abuse cases.

“There must be a longer prison sentence. The law must be revised to regulate a minimum 20 years imprisonment and a maximum life sentence,” Arist said last week.

He added that additional punishment was also crucial to create a deterrent for future offenders, recommending chemical castration, which had been called for in the past during previous cases of child abuse.

“A future revision [of the law] must include chemical castration to create more deterrent effects. This is how we provide justice for victims,” Arist said.

“Angeline’s case should be a reminder to lawmakers to make the revision. We hope [statements made by officials about the case] are not mere emotional outbursts.

“We hope lawmakers will really carry out the revision.”

House of Representatives (DPR) deputy speaker Fahri Hamzah echoed Arist’s sentiments.

“I think there should be a more comprehensive system for child protection. Therefore, the government must review the system we currently have,” Fahri said, according to Indonesian news portal Kompas.com.

Citing the case of Angeline’s adoption, which police have found to be illegal, Fahri said a revision to the child protection law must include measures to ensure foster parents follow the required procedures before they are allowed to adopt a child.

Social Services Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa last week said Margareth and her late husband, who was a foreign national, had skipped official procedures for child adoption when they took in Angeline shortly after her birth.

Khofifah said they had not submitted any application to the Ministry of Social Services for the right to care for her. As a result, the children’s adoption permit board, PIPA, never sent an officer to inspect their home and the family‘s condition, and never issued a permit for Angeline’s adoption.

Hidayat Nur Wahid, a member of the House’s Commission VIII, which deals with religious affairs, social issues, women’s empowerment and children’s welfare, said the commission was preparing a revision on the child protection law.

Chronology

Angeline was reported missing on May 16. That day she was last seen playing in the front yard of her home, with the fence locked, according to an investigation by KPAI.

Instead of reporting the incident to the police, Angeline’s foster siblings Christina and Yvonne announced the news on Facebook the day after her disappearance by creating the page “Find Angeline-Bali’s Missing Child,” asking for people to participate in a search for the eight-year-old.

On May 18, the family filed a missing person’s report with the East Denpasar Police. After refusing on several occasions to let officers into their home, Angeline’s family finally relented to allow officers to search the house.

On May 24, KPAI chairman Arist visited Margaret’s house, calling the dwelling unlivable due to its allegedly “ragged” and “dirty” condition. The property also houses dozens of dogs and chickens.

Earlier in June, state minister for women’s empowerment and child protection, Yohanna Yambise, and state administrative and bureaucratic reform minister, Yuddy Chrisnandi, attempted to visit Angeline’s home but were turned away by the family. A security guard reportedly asked them to leave.
Christina later claimed on their Facebook page that their mother was “ill” and “distressed” when the ministers visited.

On June 10, nearly a month after her disappearance, police discovered Angeline’s body, hugging a doll, buried in the backyard of her own home after spotting a mound covered with garbage near a chicken coop and detecting “a rotten smell”.

Medical examiners revealed they had found wounds across Angeline’s body, including her face, back and limbs. Blunt-force trauma to the head was determined to be the cause of death.

Less than 24 hours later, Agus was named a suspect in Angeline’s murder.

According to police, Agus confessed to raping and killing the child, although medical examiners had not found evidence of sexual violence. He said he had assaulted Angeline twice, most recently on May 16, the day the girl was reported missing.

“He did not want anyone to find out [about the assault] so he killed her,” said Denpasar Police chief Sr Comr Anak Agung Made Sudana, according to kompas.com.

Still, doubts have been raised over Agus’s role in the crime, with critics questioning the involvement of Angeline’s foster family, despite their public campaign on social media.

Angeline reportedly inherited her late foster father’s wealth, which, along with reports of alleged abuses and neglect she had suffered prior to her death, has triggered speculation that she was killed for her inheritance.

On Sunday, police arrested Margaret after declaring her a suspect for child neglect. Her daughter, Yvonne, was detained along with her, although it is not immediately clear whether she has also been named a suspect.

Officers reportedly found a blood-smeared tissue paper in Margaret’s room and are currently processing the evidence for any connections to Angeline’s death.


8 year old Angeline of Bali went missing on May 16, 2015.
 

8 year old Angeline of Bali went missing on May 16, 2015. This photo shows her with her pet.

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