Three children had been locked up by their stepmother for years and been locked with cats, dogs and snakes

News24xx.com -  Tragic, three children who had reportedly been locked up by their stepmother for years escaped from their home in Makassar, South Sulawesi, on Sunday, Sept. 17 2018.  At that time, the 11-year-old boy, 5-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy success to pried open a padlock on a door in their three-story shop house in Panakkukang with an iron bar.

Locals found the girl about 200 meters from their house when she was running to find her brother, while the youngest was found in front of the shop house crying. The 5-year-old said her brother had told her to separate from him, so that at least one of them could be free in case their mother found out about their escape.

Now, the 5-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy are now under the protection of Makassar’s Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Agency. But, the older boy was missing as of Monday. 

Andi Tenri Palallo, the Agency Head said on Monday, Sept. 17 2018, that the two children were in a healing process, both physically and psychologically. They had both developed psychological problems because got violent treatment at the hands of their stepmother.

“When we found them, both were in a bad state. They were starving and there were wounds on their bodies. The 5-year-old said they had been beaten and burned with cigarette butts. They were beaten with the iron bar they used to get out of the house,” she said. 

From investigation, known that the three children had been adopted when they babies. They also been kept indoors with several pets, such as cats, dogs and snakes, and they were not allowed outside. And whenever the mother left the house, they were locked inside.

Before they running from their home, neighbors said they had seen the three of them standing by the window on the third floor of the shop house a few days earlier. They had gestured for help, waving and pointing to their stomachs and mouths. 

Police arrested their stepmother, who is known as Acci, Memei or Ginsel, 31 years old, on Monday afternoon. Makassar Police chief detective Comr. Wirdhanto Hadicaksono said the three children have different biological parents, and the Makassar administration has yet to find out the identities of their parents. 

Wirdhanto said police were checking the adoption documents to find out whether the adoptions were legal or not. And police are also still waiting for a forensics report on the wounds of the two children.

 

 

 

NEWS24XX.COM/DEV/RED