An Indonesian man will face chemical castration, a landmark ruling that now imposes harsher punishment for sex offenders.
Muh Aris bin Syukur was convicted of the rape of nine young girls between 2015 and 2018 in Mojokerto, Indonesia and was sentenced at a court in East Java under the Presidential Regulation In Lieu of Law.
Indonesia will also be able to enact the death penalty and chemical castration for convicted peodophiles.
The punishment date has not been set because the country’s doctors have refused to perform the procedure.
The medical industry insists the practice goes against their ethics and violates a 2016 edict by the Medical Ethics and Honors Council.
Nevertheless, President Joko Widodo said the regulation allows for castration (for rapists) and death sentence for paedophiles.
“Sexual crimes against children are extraordinary crimes because they threaten the lives of children,” said the President.
The man from Mojokerto, East Java aged 20 is guilty for the rape of 9 children.
Besides the castration sentence, Aris will serve a prison sentence of 20 years.
The young man who worked as a welder was also fined Rp. 100 million.
Some parents felt that the sentence handed down to the convicted person was not worth it.
One father said while they do not agree with the sentencing, they are satisfied that the culprit was caught and sentenced.
Based on the facts from the trial at the Mojokerto District Court, the nine victims were an average age of 6-7 years.
Nevertheless, some doctors are saying, “Don’t involve doctors as executors of the additional punishment.
“Based on scientific evidence, chemical castration does not suppress perpetrators’ desire for sexual violence.”
Chemical castration involves the use of anaphrodisiac drugs via injection or tablets, to reduce libido or sexual activity.
The effects are reversible after the person stops taking the drug. -/TISG