The 6-year-old girl who fell victim to a gruesome black magic ritual in Gowa, South Sulawesi is gradually getting her eyesight restored after her parents tried to gouge out her right eye last week.
According to Syekh Yusuf General Hospital ophthalmologist Yusuf Bachmid, the girl, who is known by her initials AP, underwent an operation on her right eye on Monday. She has shown promising signs of recovery since.
“Her eye is not patched up anymore,” Yusuf said yesterday, adding that the girl is now also able to open up to doctors and people who are helping her, indicating that she is on the road to overcoming her trauma.
“During her eye examination earlier, she can now read small texts at a distance of 6 meters from her.”
Yusuf said AP will likely be eligible for discharge from the hospital by Friday, but that is contingent on a resolution to matters related to child custody.
Last week, AP’s parents, grandfather, and uncle tried to gouge out her right eye as part of a ritualistic sacrifice they believed would bring them wealth.
Authorities sniffed possible child abuse in the household after last Wednesday’s funeral of AP’s 22-year-old brother, DS, who was believed to have died after the family forced him to drink 2 liters of saltwater as part of another ritual.
Officers, along with AP’s concerned family members, paid the family a visit after the funeral and heard the little girl’s screams from inside. A video taken prior to the rescue shows AP’s mother shoving her thumb deep into the little girl’s eye socket, while her father, grandfather, and uncle were holding her still.
Bayu, another one of AP’s uncles who helped in her rescue, later revealed even more disturbing details from the ritual, including a part where the mother ate the girl’s eyelid.
All four suspects may face at least 10 years in prison for child abuse, but may face even longer prison sentences if they are found to be indeed responsible for DS’ death.
Police have also arrested a shaman who convinced the family to sacrifice their children.
