TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Ministry of Religious Affairs has officially revoked the permit of the Manarul Huda Islamic boarding school (pesantren) located in Bandung City after a police investigation revealed that the owner and teacher, Herry Wirawan (36), had molested dozens of his female students.

“We have revoked the pesantren’s permit,” said the Religious Affairs Ministry director general of Islamic education, M. Ali Ramdhani, in a written statement on December 10.

The ministry has also revoked another pesantren under Wirawan’s supervision, Tahfidz Quran Almadani, which had not obtained legal operational permits from the ministry.

Moreover, Ramdhani said the Ministry fully supports the legal actions taken by the police. As regulators, the religious affairs ministry has an administrative power to restrict the movement of institutions that commit heinous crimes.

The pesantren have now been deactivated and victims are currently closely attended by the West Java police and the region’s child protection agency. Students of the Islamic boarding school had been sent back home and will receive assistance from the local government to continue their education in other institutions.

Herry Wirawan is facing a 20 years prison sentence from the West Java High Prosecutor’s office after molesting 12 female students since 2016 who are mostly underage. He is charged under Article 81 of the Child Protection Act.

Read: Teachers Call for Anti-Sexual Violence Rule Across Islamic Boarding Schools

ANTARA