Police have arrested a Jakarta woman for the murder of her own daughter, which she said was driven by frustrations over online learning at home.
According to the police, on the morning of Aug. 26, 26-year-old LH was supervising the online learning of her 8-year-old twin daughters in their Bendungan Hilir, Central Jakarta home. LH told authorities that the victim, KS, was not following her instructions.
“I did not have any intention to kill my daughter. I was angry. In the morning, before my husband woke up, the kids and I had already woken up for online learning. One followed [instructions], the other didn’t,” LH said in police custody yesterday.
LH then hit KS with a broomstick at least five times before shoving her down to the floor. The daughter fell unconscious following the beating.
“When my daughter lost consciousness, I did not think to take her to the hospital. I was worried that the doctor might ask me about the bruises on her body,” LH said.
Sadly, KS succumbed to her injuries, the specifics of which have not been disclosed by authorities.
LH’s husband, IS, woke up to find that KS had died. He decided to help LH cover her tracks as they agreed to bury her in secret.
Hiding KS’ body in a box, LH and IS made the trip to a cemetery some 200 kilometers away in Cijaku, Banten on a motorcycle. There, they asked for a shovel from a friend, telling him that they wanted to bury a dead animal.
On Sep. 12, residents of Cijaku grew suspicious of KS’ unmarked grave in the cemetery. The residents alerted local authorities, who exhumed the grave to find the body of the first grader.
Authorities are reportedly carrying out an autopsy on KS’ body, while LH and IS have both been arrested. Though police have yet to formally announce charges against them, the murder of a minor is punishable by up to 15 years in prison according to the child protection law, with the sentence potentially raised by a third if the murderer is the child’s own parents.
