Couple arrested after 20-month-old child is killed in Jakarta

Police say a 22-year-old stepfather and the child’s mother killed a 20-month-old in South Jakarta on Saturday.

The child’s mother is reported as 19 in one account and 20 in another.

Police say the couple cited financial hardship as the motive.

They allegedly killed the child in a public toilet at Kebayoran Lama Market, then travelled to Bendungan Hilir in Central Jakarta and buried the body in an empty lot.

Police arrested both adults after investigating a report about a suspected sexual assault at the toilet.

The child’s body is being examined by forensic doctors, while the child’s three-year-old sibling has been placed in temporary care with social services.

The case matters because the surviving sibling is now in state care, and the police investigation is continuing.