How Could You? Hall of Shame-Indonesia-Engeline Margret Megawe case-Child Death UPDATED
This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.
From Denpasar, Indonesia, adoptee Engeline Megawe,8,”whose body was found buried in the backyard of the house of her adoptive mother, Margriet Megawe in Denpasar, Bali, on June 10, 2015. ”
“Engeline had reportedly been adopted solely on the basis of a notary deed by Margriet.
Erlinda declined to say whether the adoption process itself could directly lead to abuse, but she said there was the potential.
“The Social Affairs Ministry has provided good regulations on adoption but some people just don’t follow the procedure in their adoption process, whether out of lack of information or ignorance. […] How do we monitor such adoptions?” she said.
The child adoption procedures are regulated in Government Regulation No 54/2007 and the 2002 Child Protection Law.”
Unlawful child adoption
could lead to abuse: KPAI[The Jakarta Post 6/15/15]
“The murder case of an 8-year-old girl, Engeline Margret Megawe, has left many questions, not only about the culprits in her murder and the motive behind the homicide, but also the real name of the victim since different name versions circulating across the media.
Engeline was reported missing on May 16 by the adoptive family. She was spotted last time playing in front of her adoptive mother’s house on Jl. Sedap Malam in Sanur, Denpasar, Bali in that afternoon.
The family distributed information via the social media, referring to the missing girl as Angeline, with the girl’s adoptive sister, Christina, having created a Facebook fan page for Engeline.”
Why Engeline, not Angeline[The Jakarta Post 6/15/15 by Ni Komang Erviani]
“After detaining the adoptive mother of murdered Engeline Margret Megawe on suspicion of neglecting the 8-year-old child, the police turned their attention to the biological parents on Monday.
Misyal B. Achmad, the lawyer for Engeline’s adoptive mother, Margriet Megawe, said the police questioned Rosyidi and Hamidah on the adoption of the girl, asking 23 questions in a five-hour session.
“Rosyidi met Margriet through a friend. It was three days after Hamidah gave birth to Engeline. They agreed to the adoption on the same day,” Misyal said.
He said Hamidah did not agree with the adoption and claimed she had been forced to hand over her baby as Rosyidi could not afford to pay the hospital bill.
Meanwhile, Margriet agreed to pay the hospital bill as long as she could adopt their newborn, he added.
Margriet handed over Rp 800,000 to cover the hospital bill and another Rp 1 million for Hamidah’s recuperation. “So it was Rp 1.8 million in total,” he said.
After Hamidah was discharged from the hospital, her and Rosyidi lived at Margriet’s villa in Badung for one week. “After one week, when Hamidah had recovered, they went to a notary public to draw up documents on the adoption. But the document was never filed with a court by Margriet,” he said.
Both Hamidah and Rosyidi refused to comment after their questioning.
Earlier on Thursday, Hamidah said she had been shocked to learn that Engeline had been murdered. “As a mother, I cannot accept that this is my child’s fate,” she said.
“I want the perpetrator punished, whoever it is,” Hamidah added.
Meanwhile, Rosyidi told journalist on Friday that he felt he had no choice but to hand over Engeline to Margriet as he wanted his daughter to have a better life than he could offer her. “I was hoping she would get a proper education,” he said.
Engeline’s body was found buried in Margriet’s backyard. She was the second child of Rosyidi and Hamidah, who divorced after Hamidah gave birth to their third child.
Both Rosyidi and Hamidah said they felt remorse over the adoption. They deplored the police’s failure to name Margriet a suspect in the murder of Engeline.
Margriet, who was detained on Sunday on charges of neglect, was the wife of US national Douglas Scarborough.
Scarborough was initially against adopting the child, but eventually agreed to it. Scarborough died before Engeline celebrated her first birthday.
Margriet was an animal lover and paid a lot of attention to her pets, especially cats and dogs. After Scarborough died, she started keeping chickens. It was Engeline’s job to feed the chickens, which numbered about 100.
Engeline’s teacher said the child often went to school disheveled and smelling like chicken droppings. She also walked the 2 kilometers to school. Margriet apparently told the teacher that she wanted to bring Engeline up to be independent. ”
Engeline’s biological
parents questioned[The Jakarta Post 6/16/15 by Ni Komang Erviani]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Update: “A woman accused of killing her foster daughter and burying the child’s body in her back yard went on trial in Bali on Thursday, where she faces charges that carry a maximum penalty of death.
Margriet Megawe is charged with murder under the Criminal Code and with child abuse under the 2014 Child Protection Law, or the murder in May of 8-year-old Engeline, in a case that has gripped the nation.
The child’s body was discovered buried in the back yard of Margriet’s Denpasar home in June, a month after the family reported Engeline missing and launched online pleas for her return.
The prosecution’s indictment against Margriet revolves largely around confessions from her former housekeeper, Agustinus Tay, who claims Margriet killed Engeline by slamming her head against a wall and paid him to help her dispose of the body.
The indictment also details a history of abuse by the defendant against the victim, including stubbing out lit cigarettes on the child’s body.
Agustinus, who initially confessed to the murder but later recanted, saying his statement was made under duress from the police, alleges that Margriet ordered him to rape Engeline after she killed the child, to make it look like she was the victim of a sex crime, but that he refused to do so.
He did, however, agree to help dig a hole in the back yard and bury the body there, claiming that Margriet promised to pay him Rp 200 million ($14,700) to keep silent and to take the fall if the body was discovered.
The start of Thursday’s hearing at the Denpasar District Court was delayed when Engeline’s biological mother, Hamidah, burst out crying in the courtroom and demanding that Margriet be found guilty and sentenced to death.
Judge Edward Haris Sinaga, presiding, adjourned the reading of the indictment to ask that Hamidah be moved to another room in the courthouse from where she could follow the proceedings on a video link.
As of press time, prosecutors were still reading out the indictment.
Agustinus faces lesser charges of accessory to murder.”
Possible Death Sentence Looms for Woman Accused of Killing Foster Daughter [Jakarta Globe 10/22/15]
Update 2: “Prosecutors at the Denpasar District Court on Thursday (04/02) demanded a life sentence for Margriet Megawe, the woman accused of murdering her foster daughter and burying the child’s body in her backyard.
Margriet is charged with murder under the Criminal Code and child abuse under the 2014 Child Protection Law for the May 2015 murder of 8-year-old Engeline, in a case which gripped the nation.
Prosecutor Purwanta Sudarmaji said the suspect exploited the victim for financial gain. Physical abuse led to the death of the child.
In July, a Bali court rejected a pretrial motion filed by Margriet to annul her murder suspect status, saying the police had collected more than enough evidences in the case.
The case captured national attention after Angeline’s body was discovered buried in the back yard of Margriet’s Denpasar home in June, a month after the family reported Engeline missing and launched online pleas for her return.
The prosecution’s indictment against Margriet revolves largely around confessions from her former housekeeper, Agustinus Tay, who claims Margriet killed Engeline by slamming her head against a wall and paid him to help her dispose of the body.
Prosecutors in trial earlier this week demanded 12 years imprisonment and Rp 1 billion ($73,500) in fines, or an additional six months jail time, for Agustinus.
Agustinus initially confessed to the murder before later recanting, saying his statement was made under duress from the police, alleges Margriet ordered him to rape Engeline after she killed the child to stage a sex crime motive, but said he refused to do so.
He did, however, agree to help dig a hole in the back yard and bury the body there, claiming that Margriet promised to pay him Rp 200 million to keep silent and take the fall if the body was discovered.”
Prosecutors demand Life sentence for foster mother in Engline murder case[Jakarta Globe 2/4/16]
Update 3:”The Denpasar District Court on Monday (29/02) sentenced Margriet Megawe, a woman accused of murdering her foster daughter and burying the child’s body in her backyard, to life imprisonment.
Margriet was found guilty for the May 2015 murder of 8-year-old Engeline, in a case which gripped the nation. Presiding judge Edward Harris Sinaga said the defendant is guilty of murder, child exploitation for financial gain and physical abuse that led to the death of the child.
The sentence met the prosecutors’ demand.
Margriet’s lawyer Dian Pongkor said his team will file an appeal against the ruling, as reported by Kompas.com.
The case captured national attention after Angeline’s body was discovered buried in the back yard of Margriet’s Denpasar home in June last year, a month after the family reported Engeline missing and launched online pleas for her return.
The prosecution’s indictment against Margriet revolves largely around confessions from her former housekeeper, Agustinus Tay, who claims Margriet killed Engeline by slamming her head against a wall and paid him to help her dispose of the body.
Agustinus initially confessed to the murder before later recanting, saying his statement was made under duress from the police. He alleged Margriet had ordered him to rape the lifeless Engeline to stage a sex crime motive, but said he had refused.
He did, however, agree to help dig a hole in the back yard and bury the body there, claiming that Margriet promised to pay him Rp 200 million ($14,930) to keep silent and take the fall if the body was discovered.”
Foster Mother Gets Life Sentence in Engeline Murder Case [Jakarta Globe 3/1/16]
Recent Comments