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本文由律咖网社群读者 JiaDaiRuo 投稿分享。
为了方便大家阅读，律咖网编辑 JingJing（微信：lvga2015）对原文进行了细致的逻辑润色与合规性整理。希望能给正在 印尼 创业路上的你带来真实的参考。

I never thought I’d be the one asking about custody disputes in Riau.

I’m JiaDaiRuo — 24, from Qinglong, Guizhou, graduated in Textile Engineering, now running a cross-border small parcel service out of Pekanbaru. My warehouse is in a quiet industrial zone, near a mosque and a Chinese grocery. I don’t talk much. I don’t post on social media. I just count packages, track customs delays, and try not to cry when the system rejects another shipment because of “incomplete documentation.”

Last week, a client — a Chinese woman married to a local man — came to me asking if she could get her child back from her in-laws. She’d been living here five years. Her husband died. The family refused to let her take the baby. She didn’t have a marriage certificate registered with the Civil Registry. She didn’t have a KITAS. She didn’t even have a translation of the child’s birth certificate.

She asked me: “Is there any public record of a case like this?”

I didn’t know.

I Googled. I asked in three local Chinese entrepreneur groups. No one replied. Then I checked the Indonesian legal databases — the Mahkamah Agung portal, the Pengadilan Negeri site for Riau. Nothing. No case numbers. No verdicts. No names.

I thought: maybe there are no public cases because no one dares to file them.

Or maybe, they’re settled quietly — through family mediation, through religious leaders, through bribes that never show up in court logs.

I’ve been here 18 months. I’ve seen foreign women disappear from their rentals after disputes with husbands. I’ve seen Chinese men leave their children behind when they flee visa overstays. I’ve seen Indonesian mothers take children to avoid alimony. But no one talks about it. Not on forums. Not in WhatsApp groups. Not even in the lawyer’s office down the street who charges 5 million rupiah just for a consultation.

Why?

Because custody here isn’t just about law — it’s about religion, kinship, and power.

In Riau, the majority follow Sunni Islam. Under Islamic law, the father’s family holds strong guardianship rights — especially if the mother is a foreigner. Even if the mother is the biological parent, if she’s not Muslim, or not registered in the religious marriage system (akad nikah), her legal standing is fragile.

I read about the 2015 Veloso case — how the Philippine government negotiated with Indonesia over a death row inmate. That case made headlines. But what about the quiet ones? The ones where a mother cries in a rented room because she can’t see her child, and no one writes about it?

There’s no database. No NGO that tracks foreign custody cases. No legal aid hotline for non-citizens. The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection? They have offices in Jakarta. But in Pekanbaru? You need a local contact. A translator. A way in.

I asked a local lawyer I met at a chamber of commerce event: “If a Chinese woman wants to sue for custody of her child in Riau, where does she start?”

He said: “First, she must prove the child’s birth was registered with the Dinas Kependudukan dan Catatan Sipil. Then, she needs a letter from the mosque confirming the marriage was conducted according to Islamic rites — even if it was a civil ceremony in China. Then, she must show proof of income, housing, and moral character — all translated, notarized, and legalized by the Chinese Embassy.”

He paused.

“And if she doesn’t have all that? Then she talks to the family. Or she leaves.”

I didn’t ask what “leaves” meant.

I left the office feeling like I’d just watched a ghost walk through a wall.

I’m not a lawyer. I’m not even a social worker. I’m just someone who ships 500 boxes a week to Malaysia and Singapore. But I keep seeing these stories. And I wonder — if we don’t document them, do they even exist?

Maybe the answer isn’t in the courts.

Maybe it’s in the quiet networks: the Chinese temple in Dumai that helps women with paperwork. The Indonesian NGO in Batam that offers free translation for foreign mothers. The former immigration officer who still answers WhatsApp messages at midnight.

I don’t know if there are public cases.

But I know there are people — women, mostly — who are trying to get their children back, and no one is writing it down.

And that’s the real problem.

📌 FAQ

Q1: Where should a foreign mother begin if she wants to claim custody of her child in Riau?

Steps:

  1. Visit the local Dinas Kependudukan dan Catatan Sipil (Population and Civil Registry Office) to confirm the child’s birth registration.
  2. Obtain a certified copy of the child’s birth certificate — with Indonesian translation and apostille from the Chinese Embassy.
  3. Secure a letter from the local mosque (masjid) confirming the marriage was conducted under Islamic rites (akad nikah), if applicable.
  4. Submit a petition to the Pengadilan Negeri (District Court) in Pekanbaru under the Family Law division.
    Path: Dinas Kependudukan → Chinese Embassy → Masjid → Pengadilan Negeri
    Key Points:
  • All documents must be translated by a certified sworn translator (penerjemah tersumpah).
  • The court may appoint a social worker to assess the child’s living conditions.
  • Foreign mothers are rarely granted full custody unless the father is deceased or proven unfit.

Steps:

  1. Contact the Lembaga Bantuan Hukum (LBH) Riau — a legal aid NGO.
  2. Ask if they handle child custody cases involving foreign nationals.
  3. Visit the Indonesian Women’s Association (PAW) in Pekanbaru, which sometimes collaborates with foreign embassies.
    Path: LBH Riau → PAW → Embassy Liaison
    Key Points:
  • Services are limited and often require a local sponsor.
  • No English-speaking lawyers are listed on official sites.
  • Most help is provided via WhatsApp or in-person visits — no online forms.

Q3: Can a foreign mother use her country’s consulate for help?

Steps:

  1. Register with your country’s consulate in Jakarta or Surabaya (Riau has no consular office).
  2. Request consular assistance under “family welfare” or “child protection.”
  3. Ask if your embassy has ever assisted in similar custody cases — request anonymized examples.
    Path: Consulate → Embassy Legal Section → Past Case Inquiry
    Key Points:
  • Embassies can provide notarization and translation support — but not legal representation.
  • They rarely intervene in custody disputes unless the child is at risk of abuse or trafficking.
  • China’s Consulate in Surabaya has handled a few cases — but none are publicly documented.

✅ 4 Actionable Steps — If You’re Facing This

  1. Document everything now — even if you’re not ready to sue. Take photos of your child’s daily life, school records, medical appointments, and communication with the other party.
  2. Find a local translator who’s also a former civil servant — they understand how the system bends. Ask at the Pekanbaru Chamber of Commerce.
  3. Talk to the mosque imam — not as a legal step, but as a cultural one. In Riau, religious approval often precedes legal acceptance.
  4. Keep a copy of every document in two places — one with you, one with a trusted local friend. If you’re deported, your paperwork might be seized.

Maybe different people will have different answers.

I still don’t know if there are public custody cases in Riau.

But I know this: silence doesn’t mean absence. It just means no one’s listening.

If you’ve been through something like this — whether you’re a mother, a father, a friend, or a fellow entrepreneur who just saw a woman crying in the parking lot of a logistics center — I’d like to hear it.

You’re not alone.

And if you want to talk — quietly, privately, without judgment — you can reach out to JingJing, the editor at律咖网. She’s helped others in similar situations. Not with legal advice. Just with connection.

微信：lvga2015

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