Kak Seto Asks For Clarification Of Handling Cases Of School Bakar Children In Temanggung

Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Agency (LPAI) Seto Mulyadi/ANTARA/Sumarwoto

PURWOKERTO - The Indonesian Child Protection Agency (LPAI) asked for clarification from the Temanggung Resort Police, Central Java, regarding the handling of a child with the initials R (13) who was in conflict with the law for burning his school building.

LPAI General Chair Seto Mulyadi said that after hearing the case and seeing a photo of a press conference held by the Temanggung Police by presenting the perpetrators of the arson, his party strongly criticized it as a wrong move.

"Incidentally I came to Purwokerto, I tried to open the contact of the Chief of Police (Temanggung Police Chief AKBP Agus Puryadi, ed). I contacted him and we conveyed this criticism," said the man who is familiarly called Kak Seto as reported by ANTARA, Monday, July 13.

From the results of this communication, the Temanggung Police Chief admitted that he was wrong and made a mistake because he presented the perpetrators who were still children at the press conference.

Therefore, the Temanggung Police Chief apologized for the mistakes and mistakes.

"So, of course we appreciate this. Hopefully the Police will also always listen to input from the public, whether it's from the media, whether it's from child protection activists, and so on. To always refer to the Child Protection Law and also the Child Criminal Justice System Law," he explained.

Kak Seto emphasized the principle of lex specialis derogat legis generalial or the principle of legal interpretation which states that special laws rule out general laws.

"This means that a special law for children, please pay very attention," he said.

In addition, Kak Seto admitted that he had contacted his parents and perpetrator R directly through video calls to ask about the conditions and so on.

According to him, R admitted that at this time he had started to calm down at home and the person concerned also stated that during the examination at the Temanggung Police, he received quite good treatment.

"This means that it is enough in a child-friendly situation, even accompanied by his parents," he said.

In addition, R also received assistance from the Integrated Center "Kartini" Temanggung, which is one of the technical implementing units of the Ministry of Social Affairs.

LPAI appreciates the Temanggung Police for not detaining R, but for returning the person concerned to his parents.

Kak Seto hopes that the police will always prioritize the best interests for children, even though the child made a mistake.

According to him, mistakes or acts of violence committed by children always refer to the child as also a victim of an unfavorable environment, which always plunges children into bad actions.

Kak Seto admitted that the perpetrator's actions were also wrong and it was a deviant behavior because it was very unjustified for a 13-year-old teenager.

"However, we must know all of this background. Once again, the child is doing it because of the influence of the environment that is not conducive," said the psychologist.

Even though he had met face to face through a video call, Kak Seto admitted that he was looking for time to meet R in person.

Because R admits that he is often a victim of bullying from friends and teachers, it is necessary to find a way to solve the problem.

Regarding this, Kak Seto will also contact the principal and teachers as well as to match the truth.

According to him, R had extraordinary courage because at night he brought fire to school, but it is very unfortunate that his courage was for the crime by burning his school building.

"This means that we don't have superior seeds, but then it becomes something that will damage this nation itself. So, this is the responsibility of all of us, but also the call of our hearts to take even more appropriate actions," he said.

Meanwhile, the Temanggung Police Chief AKBP Agus Puryadi apologized for presenting the perpetrator with the initials R during a press conference to reveal the case of students burning the school building.

"We sincerely apologize for this. We also thank you for the attention and input from all parties," he said.

According to him, all input from various parties regarding the implementation of the press conference will be an evaluation for the Temanggung Police in the future.

The burning case of the SMPN 2 Pringsurat building, Temanggung Regency, occurred on Tuesday morning, June 27, 2023, at around 02.00 WIB.

Based on the results of an investigation conducted by the Temanggung Police, the burning was carried out by a class VII student at SMPN 2 Pringsurat with the initials R who felt hurt because he was often a victim of bullying at school.