Custodial dad, step arrested for assaulting 6-year-old son; boy reunited with mom at hopsital (Jakarta, Indonesia)

Once again, we have a control-freak dad who was intent on full possession of the child--only to severely abuse him. Poor Mom hadn't seen the boy in five years, but she still faces a big fight getting custody.

Fathers rights in action, folks. Whether it's in New York City or Jakarta, too many of these batterers and criminals are getting their hands on the kids, only to kill them or nearly kill them.

Dad is identified as SURYA ATMAJA GINTING.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/arrests-follow-abuse-of-6-year-old/

Arrests Follow Abuse of 6-Year-Old

By Jakarta Globe on 7:15 am December 24, 2013.

A 6-year-old boy, found gravely injured at an oil plantation in Riau after being abused by his own father and stepmother, was reunited with his mother on Monday.

Devi Andriani, the birth mother of Raditya Atmaja Ginting, or “Adit,” burst into tears when she saw her son laying on a hospital bed in the Bangkinang general hospital in Riau.

Devi who lives in Medan, North Sumatra, separated from her son and his father, Surya Atmaja Ginting five years ago .

She claims her ex-husband took Adit away without her consent after he divorced her.

But Arist Merdeka Sirait, chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) suggested the mother waits until Adit fully recovered before taking him home.

“We appreciate the mother’s intention to take the boy home but we believe there should be an assessment to determine if she is fit to be a parent, or whether she has the same tendency towards child abuse,” he said on Monday.

Arist said Adit’s physical condition has been improving gradually but the boy had been severely traumatized by what had happened to him. Arist added that Komnas Anak has been urging the police to solve the case.

Adit was found by a vegetable seller at a Riau plantation on Dec.15.

Local residents rushed him to a nearby hospital where doctors discovered that the boy had been assaulted with sharp and blunt objects. Adit allegedly told medical staff that his stepmother abandoned him after his ordeal.

Both his father and stepmother Ervina were subsequently arrested and named suspects in a case of child abuse.

Ervina claimed she started beating her stepson because he was a naughty child who often refused to listen to her. She faces 10 years in prison for allegedly violating the 2004 law on domestic abuse, while Surya might face a third of the maximum possible sentence for being an accomplice.

Komnas Anak reported 2,637 instances of domestic abuse against children in 2012. Pitoyo Susanto, a child protection specialist with the Christian humanitarian group World Vision, said child abuse is severely under-reported nationwide due to the popular view that abuse is best resolved within the family.

In local media, abuse victims, their families and supporters have reported threats and intimidation from perpetrators’ friends and family during court trials.

Domestic abuse can be reported at district police units for women and children. Abuse can also be reported at hospitals or centers run by the non-profit organization, the Child Protection Institute.

However, World Vision’s Susanto says many families live far from reporting centers and health providers capable of offering good life-saving medical and psychological care.