In 2016, chemical castration and the death penalty was officially legalised as punishment for convicted child molesters in Indonesia. President Joko Widodo signed the agreement and in the same year, it was ratified into law, meant to deter pedophiles from committing their vile acts after the terrible gang rape and murder of a teenage girl, BBC reported.
Source: Sentinel Assam
Now, three years down the road, the first convicted pedophile has been sentenced to chemical castration after he was found guilty of raping nine children. The man, Muh Aris bin Syukur from the city of Mojokerto in East Java was convicted for raping nine girls from 2015 to 2018 in Mojokerto.
He was caught in October 2018 when CCTV footage showed him violating his latest victim. CCN Indonesia reported that on 18th July, the Mojokerto High Court remained firm on the decision to sentence Aris to 12 years in jail and ordered him to pay an IDR100 million (RM29,496) fine for his crimes of violently forcing children to have intercourse with him.
Source: NY Daily News
The prosecutors initially demanded 17 years for Aris’ horrendous crimes but the District Court judges decided to hand Aris an additional sentence. “We hereby give the additional sentence in the form of chemical castration to the convicted,” the court ruling stated.
This makes Aris the first person to be sentenced to chemical castration in this landmark ruling. However, he is still waiting for his castration as this is the first time the law has been put into practice in Indonesia. Hence, the Mojokerto Prosecutors Office says that they are looking for suitable medical professionals who can execute the sentence.
Source: Tribune India
The Indonesian Doctors Association (IDI) has previously disagreed with this method as they felt that it went against medical ethics and refused to have anything to do with enacting the punishment itself. Meanwhile, some people have protested that this is an expensive procedure and the funds should instead be used for the treatment of victims instead.
What do you think of this punishment? Is it fitting with the crime?
Also read: Kazakhstan to Carry Out First Chemical Castration on Convicted Pedo After Law is Passed
