Man accused in child sex abuse case commits suicide in Jakarta cell

A man accused in a child sex abuse case is said to have allegedly committed suicide inside his cell at Depok Penitentiary, West Java in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday (17 October).

Suhaimi Rinaldi, 40, was found hanging on a clothesline by an officer who had come to pick him up to take him to his trial, Depok Penitentiary Head Warden Sohibur Rachman said.

Suhaimi was detained at the penitentiary for a month after being charged for molesting a child.

According to his cellmate Susanto, Suhaimi had tried to commit suicide several times before.

Sukmajaya Police Precinct Chief Commissioner I Gusti Ngurah Bronet Ranapati said investigators are currently treating the incident as a suicide.

"No traces of violence were found on the victim's body. He likely hanged himself when his roommate was not aware," Bronet said, according to The Jakarta Post news website.

According to the police, Susanto, 23, is currently being questioned by investigators.

Suhaimi's body has been taken to the National Police Hospital in Kramat Jati, East Jakarta to undergo an autopsy.

The number of prison suicides across the world has been on the rise over the past few years. In England and Wales alone, figures showed that the suicide rates in prisons have doubled since 2013.

UK's Ministry of Justice statistics, released on 27 April, 2017, revealed that around 113 prisoners, including 10 women, killed themselves in the year ending March 2017 – an increase by 11 when compared to the previous year.

The rate of prison suicides has gone up since 2013, from 0.6 to 1.3 per 1,000 prisoners, while among female prisoners, it has increased from 1 to 2.6 per 1,000.

The UK government has attributed some of the rise in violence to the availability of dangerous psychoactive drugs in prisons.