The Jakarta Metro Police has made one of the biggest illegal abortion busts in the city following its investigation into the alleged murder of a Taiwanese national.
According to the police, a Taiwanese businessman, identified as 52-year-old Hsu Ming-Hu, impregnated a local woman and his employee, identified by her initials SS, some time ago. He then gave her IDR15 million (US$1,015) to terminate her pregnancy at an illegal clinic on Jalan Raden Saleh, Central Jakarta.
On July 23, SS hired contract killers to murder Hsu Ming-Hu at his home in Bekasi. According to her, Hsu Ming-Hu sexually abused her over the years and she was upset he forced her to have the abortion. In addition, she was angry that her employer was going to marry his domestic helper over her.
Police arrested SS soon after and developed the investigation to target the clinic where she had an abortion. On August 3, officers raided the clinic and arrested 17 people, including doctors, nurses, and customers.
Police say the clinic had a legal permit for obstetrics and gynecology, which it used as a front for its abortion practice. The clinic had been operational for five years, and between January 2019 and April 2020, it served 2,638 abortion patients illicitly.
“People came to the clinic everyday for consultation on pregnancy, but [the clinic] abused its permit,” Jakarta Metro Police General Crimes Investigation Unit head Tubagus Ade Hidayat said yesterday.
The clinic, owned by an 84-year-old OB-GYN specialist identified by the initials SWS, charged from IDR1.5 million to IDR9 million per procedure, depending on the gestation age. Police say the aborted fetuses were dissolved using chemicals and flushed down the toilet.
All 17 suspects were charged with violation of various statutes under the Criminal Code (KUHP), the Health Law, and Child Protection Law, with the maximum punishment being 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, SS and the contract killers have been charged with premeditated murder and may face life imprisonment or the death penalty if convicted.
Abortion is illegal in Indonesia (except in certain special circumstances), but that obviously does not eliminate the demand for abortion services. But without safe, legal abortion clinics to turn to, women are often desperate enough to go to one of the country’s many illegal abortion clinics. Some of those are run by doctors or people with at least some medical training.
