TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday that Japan police arrested an Indonesian national allegedly abandoning a newborn baby to its death.

The Indonesian Consulate General (KJRI) in Osaka also confirmed the report. The Indonesian national was JP, aged 21, interning in Hiroshima. The suspect was then arrested by Onomichi police, Hiroshima Prefecture.

KJRI Osaka said that the agency has communicated with Onomichi police and relevant parties, including the Training Center (LPK) in Indonesia who transfer manpower to Japan.

It’s currently unknown where JP allegedly neglected the baby. The ministry explained that Onomichi police are currently investigating the case to determine JP’s legal status. Police refused to provide detailed information since an agreement has not been obtained from JP.

“The Foreign Ministry and KJRI Osaka will keep monitoring the case and will provide JP with consular assistance once JP grants permission and access,” said ministry spokesperson Lalu Muhammad Iqbal to reporters.

In Japan, child abandonment is a crime punishable by up to five years in prison. Hospitals in some Japanese prefectures apply a baby hatch system, where people abandon their babies anonymously in a secure box so relevant authorities can find and care for them. The Japanese government announced in 2007 that the baby hatch was “not entirely illegal”.

NABIILA AZZAHRA

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