Febriamy Hutapea – The Judicial Mafia Eradication Task Force said on Tuesday that it had found irregularities in the prosecution of a boy on trial for stealing a mosque's speakers.

Harimuddin, a member of the team, said on Tuesday that law enforcers and judicial officers had violated regulations in the arrest and detention of the 13-year-old, identified as R.S., last month.

He said the task force had interviewed witnesses from the boy's hometown of Cianjur, West Java, and found glaring abuse, including not allowing the boy to have an attorney present during his questioning.

"The boy was detained for 30 days pending the initial police investigation," he said, adding that the teen was only assigned a lawyer when he went on trial.

Harimuddin also said R.S. was handcuffed when he attended court hearings and was placed in a holding cell for adult defendants rather than juveniles.

Police and prosecutors, he said, appeared to have brushed aside standard procedures in order to bring the boy's case to court quickly, including the obligation to take a "friendlier approach" that would not traumatize the child.

"The police should find a better solution when dealing with children," Harimuddin said. "This can include involving the parents, other members of the family and even the victims."

The task force appealed for leniency in the case ahead of the verdict, which is expected to be handed down on Thursday. Harimuddin said police and prosecutors had failed to consider restorative justice, the more lenient option in criminal cases involving juveniles.

Restorative justice treats a crime as an offense against the victim rather than against the state, and allows for a variety of options for the offender to make reparations, including by apologizing, returning stolen items or doing community service.

A joint decree issued by the Supreme Court, the Attorney General's Office and the National Police states that cases involving youthful offenders should be handled through restorative justice, Harimuddin noted.

In order to prevent similar mistreatment of minors by law enforcement agencies, the task force official said his team would send a letter of reprimand to each office that had been accused of violating rules when investigating, detaining or prosecuting juvenile offenders.

According to the task force – which was created by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Dec. 30, 2009 – it has received at least 4,500 reports of such law enforcement and legal irregularities since it was set up.

The task force was created with the aim of eradicating systematic corruption in the judiciary as well as case-brokering, or accepting goods in exchange for favorable results in cases.