An Indonesian caregiver is searching for the family members of a Taiwanese man with Down syndrome she has taken care of for years in Indonesia, but needs to send back, Taiwan’s representative office in Jakarta said on Monday.
The Taipei Economic and Trade Office said that Siti Aisyah started to take care of a teenage boy surnamed Huang (黃), who has severe Down syndrome, after being hired by Huang’s father in 2013.
Six years later when Siti’s work permit expired, she and Huang’s father reached an agreement for her to take the son to Indonesia and continue to care for him, with the father providing a lump sum payment as compensation, sources said.
Photo: Screengrab from Youtube Tribunnews
She returned to Indonesia with Huang in July 2019, the sources said.
Because Huang, who is now 24, has overstayed his visa, Siti must send him back to Taiwan, but has learned that Huang’s father has since died, the office said.
Until the office locates his other family members, Huang is unable to return, the office said without elaborating on why that was necessary or the legal issues involved.
The office added that it was discussing Huang’s visa issue with Indonesian immigration authorities.
The issue gained prominence after a TikTok user uploaded an interview with Siti that has been watched more than 1.8 million times.
In the video, Siti said that when she told Huang’s father she was willing to take his son to Indonesia to continue his care, the father cried, saying he had no other choice, as Huang’s mother did not want to take care of Huang.
Huang’s mother wanted to end her son’s life or entrust him to social services, she said.
Huang’s father worked as a security guard and spent almost everything he earned to pay Siti’s salary and financially support his son’s education, she said.
In the years since she has taken care of Huang in Indonesia, he has started to walk on his own, she said.
Indonesian news Web site TribunNews cited Siti as saying that after Huang’s father died, no one paid her for Huang’s care, but she could not make contact with any family members because they had apparently moved.
The family originally lived in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止), she said.
The TikTok interview has been cited by several Indonesia news outlets and sparked online discussion, with many Indonesian commenters praising Siti for her compassion in caring for Huang.
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