Teacher who sexually abused pupil back in Indonesia jail after BBC revealed secret release

Teacher who sexually abused pupil back in Indonesia jail after BBC revealed secret release

A former teacher who sexually assaulted a student has been sent back to prison in Indonesia after a BBC investigation exposed that he had been quietly freed early.

Mochamad Subchi Azal Tsani, known as Bechi, was given a seven-year prison sentence in 2022 after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a female student at his father’s well-known Islamic boarding school in East Java, where he worked as a teacher.

A BBC Eye undercover investigation found that he was secretly released on parole in August 2025, after serving less than half of his sentence. The woman he had been convicted of assaulting had not been told, despite having a legal right to be informed.

When she learned he was back behind bars, she cried with relief.

"I pray that this doesn't happen to anyone else and that, going forward, the law will be applied justly in Indonesia," the former student, who asked to remain anonymous, told the BBC.

The Ministry of Immigration and Corrections had earlier told the BBC that Bechi had been freed because of sentence reductions granted under regulations.

However, the BBC investigation triggered public anger and prompted lawmakers to call for an inquiry, after which the government announced a full review.

That review found "errors" that led to Bechi’s parole being cancelled. He has now been returned to prison.

Immigration and Corrections Minister Agus Andrianto told the BBC that those who approved Bechi’s parole "will certainly face sanctions".

"We want to make sure that such mistakes or irregularities do not happen again," he said.

Ira Puspitasari (right), one of several women who accused Bechi of rape, said she was "amazed" to hear the news

For Ira Puspitasari, one of several former students who accused Bechi of sexual abuse and gave evidence at his trial, the decision is a vindication.

"I'm amazed, really. I didn't expect the government would pay such detailed attention to this case and really pay attention to us, the victims," she said.

Ira, who has given up her legal right to anonymity, told the BBC that Bechi raped and sexually abused her for more than four years, starting when she was 15.

"I was treated as his slave. I was held captive, raped, beaten," she said.

She said she tried to escape, but Bechi’s private security guards tracked her down, kidnapped her and took her to a remote hut, where Bechi tortured and raped her.

She said she reported everything to police but was then pressured into withdrawing her complaint. She also provided an audio recording of Bechi’s mother telling her to say that "nothing had happened".

After watching BBC undercover footage of Bechi smiling and greeting supporters at an event in March, when he should still have been in prison, Ira was moved to tears.

"It's like nothing ever happened," she said.

Ira was invited to a parliamentary hearing this week into how the state handled sexual abuse cases in religious and educational institutions, held in response to the BBC’s investigation.

Lawyer Joko Jumadi, who has represented several victims of abuse in educational institutions, also spoke at the hearing and said authorities were often unwilling to investigate abuse allegations because they involved "influential religious figures who have large followings".

He told the hearing that he regularly faced threats and intimidation for taking on such cases.

Bechi is the son of prominent Islamic cleric Muhammad Mukhtar Mu'thi, founder of the Shiddiqiyyah Islamic boarding school in Jombang, East Java.

He was arrested in 2022 after a 15-hour police siege at the school, where supporters had gathered to stop his arrest.

Prosecutors had sought a longer sentence after Bechi was accused of rape by several students, but he was acquitted of the rape charges and convicted of the lesser offence of sexually assaulting one student.

The BBC sought comment from Bechi, his mother and the Shiddiqiyyah boarding school during its investigation, but received no response.