“So far, 13 people have been named suspects” and arrested in the case, city police chief Eva Guna Pandia told reporters in Yogyakarta on Monday.
Those in custody include 11 child carers, as well as the headmaster and the head of the foundation that ran the centre.
They will face a rash of charges including child neglect. Other charges may be added as the investigation unfolds.
Pandia said the suspects told police they had tied up some of the children to prevent them disturbing others.
They claimed the centre was understaffed, with not enough personnel to bathe and dress the children, said Yogyakarta detective Riski Adrian.
The daycare centre accommodated about 100 children, more than half of whom are believed to have been maltreated, according to police.
Parent Noorman Windarto told AFP he was shocked when he received a phone call from a fellow parent last Friday, urging him to pick up his two-year-old son.
He later learnt from police that the boy, who had been attending the centre since he was three months old, was among those to have been tied up.
“My heart was shattered,” the 42-year-old civil servant said.
“My wife cried. Most of them (caregivers) were women, and their body language was so tender, so soft-spoken, and appeared to be religious.”
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