Crime
Indonesia Bans Sex Outside Marriage
A new criminal code that bans having sex outside of marriage was enacted by the Indonesian parliament.
It was approved with the backing of all political parties and will apply to both Indonesian citizens and foreign visitors, carrying a possible prison sentence of up to a year. Additionally, a new legislation forbids unmarried couples from living together.
The government already forbids adultery but not sex outside of marriage, and the new law will not take effect for three years.
However, concerns exist regarding what this development will bring for tourism.
According to Maulana Yusran, deputy head of Indonesia’s tourism agency, the new rules are “totally counterproductive” as the nation works to recover from the COVID-19 outbreak.
“We deeply regret the government have closed their eyes. We have already expressed our concern to the ministry of tourism about how harmful this law is.”
The restrictions are anticipated to cause problems for the business community, particularly for those who frequently host and serve visitors and people from other countries.
For instance, Bali, which is largely dependent on tourism, is still recovering from the pandemic downturn that drove visitors away.
The restrictions will “make foreigners think twice” about visiting Indonesia, according to Putu Winastra, chairman of the Association of the Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies (ASITA) in Bali, while speaking to a news source.
Putu questioned how the restrictions would be enforced and added, “From our point of view as tourism industry players, this law will be very troublesome.”
He inquired if they should ask unmarried foreigners if they were married or not. Putu claimed that any attempts to draw visitors back to the island may be “counterproductive” in light of the laws.
He claimed that if the regulations were actually put into effect, tourists might end up in jail, which would be bad for the industry.
The 200-page new criminal code has been in development for years.
A previous proposal was supposed to be approved in 2019, but thousands of protesters, mostly students, took to the streets to demand the government rescind it, forcing the vote to be postponed.
At the moment, President Joko Widodo announced in a televised address that he would postpone the vote after “carefully examining feedback from various parties who express issues on the certain substantial substance of the penal code.”
Amnesty’s Hamid highlighted that since 2019, “no substantive adjustments” have been made.
The amendment voted on Tuesday makes it so that having sex outside of marriage might result in a year in jail, however, there are limitations on who can file a formal complaint. For instance, it is legal for the parents of children who are living together before getting married to report it.
The code not only adds new offences but also makes existing rules and penalties more comprehensive. A proposal paper states that the maximum prison term for violating blasphemy laws has been raised from “one to six provisions” to five years.
According to Hamid, regulations prohibiting unpermitted protests and insulting the nation’s leaders will have a “chilling effect” on free speech.
He stated that the return of rules barring insults against the president and vice president, the current administration, as well as state institutions, would further produce a palpable stifling effect on freedom of speech and criminalise reasonable objections.
The restrictions, according to Human Rights Watch researcher in Indonesia Andreas Harsono, are a setback for already diminishing religious freedom in Indonesia” and could be abused to target particular people.
“The danger of oppressive laws is not that they’ll be broadly applied, it’s that they provide avenue for selective enforcement,” he said.
Law professor Hadi Rahmat Purnama of the University of Indonesia said the rules would go into effect after a three-year transitional period.
An Area Court in Jos, on Tuesday, sentenced one Jeptha John, to three months imprisonment for stealing a Redmi mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The judge, Shawomi Bokkos, sentenced the John after he pleaded guilty to the offence.
The judge, however, gave the convict an option to pay N20, 000 fine and N50, 000 restitution to the complainant.
Bokkos said that if the convict defaulted in paying the restitution, three months should be added to his sentence to make it six months imprisonment.
Earlier, the police prosecutor, Insp Monday Dabit, told the court that the case was reported at the B Division Police Station, Jos, on Dec. 1, 2024, by Ms Nerat Danjuma.
He said that the complainant alleged that the defendant trespassed into her house and stole her mobile phone valued at N165, 000.
The prosecutor further told the court that the offence contravened the Plateau State Penal Code, Law of Northern Nigeria.
Troops of the Nigerian army have apprehended no fewer than 15 persons over suspected oil theft and illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.
Lt.-Col. Danjuma Danjuma, the Spokesman, Nigerian Army, 6 Division, Port Harcourt, said in a statement on Monday that the operations were carried out in Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, and Rivers recently.
Danjuma said that the army apprehended 15 persons, dismantled 32 artisanal refineries and seized 14 boats during operations.
He further said that during the operations, conducted between Jan. 6 and 12, the troops confiscated no fewer than 60,000 litres of various petroleum products
The spokesman said that the operations were part of a broader collaborative effort with other security agencies to combat oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
Danjuma said that the raid commenced in Bille, Degema Local Government Area, and Rivers, where soldiers dismantled seven illegal refining sites, confiscated 20,000 litres of crude oil, and destroyed two boats.
“We also deactivated ten illegal refineries, several crude oil cooking pots, and receivers, and recovered about 19,000 litres of stolen petroleum products along the Imo River.
“In Odagwa, Etche, our troops intercepted three boats carrying about 12,000 litres of stolen crude oil and arrested three suspects in the process.
“Similar operations were carried out in Abiama, Asa, Obuzor, Okoloma, Ozaa, Ukwa, and Oyigbo” he added.
He stated that the soldiers advanced to Nkisa in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers, where they confiscated 1,600 litres of crude oil and 1,200 litres adulterated diesel.
Danjuma said that along Ndoni Road, the troops intercepted a Toyota van transporting an estimated 1,200 litres of stolen condensate.
The spokesman said that in Buguma, Asari-Toru, Rivers, the troops dismantled two illegal refineries, seized 1,500 litres of stolen crude oil, and apprehended five suspects.
“In Baberegbene, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa, our soldiers dismantled an illegal artisanal refinery and intercepted a wooden boat carrying no fewer than 1,500 litres of stolen
“Similarly, an illegal refining site containing an unquantified quantity of stolen petroleum products was deactivated in Emago-Kugbo and Oluasiri communities in Nembe, Bayelsa.
“The operations continued in Akwa Ibom and Delta, where troops maintained a strong presence and effectively denied economic saboteurs the liberty to operate,” he said.
The police in Lagos have dragged two women, Mmesuma Ofunna, and Blessing Adimekwe, before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over alleged obtaining money by false pretence.
Ofunna, 22, and Adimekwe, 25, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mr L K J Layeni, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing and conduct likely to breach peace.
They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants conspired with others now at large, to commit the offence on Oct. 26 at the Okokomaiko area of Ojo.
He alleged that they had obtained the sum of N70, 000 from one Faith Ahamefule, with a promise not to post her nude photo on social media.
The prosecutor alleged that the defendants later posted the nude photo of the nominal complainant on social media, knowing that their promise was false.
He alleged that they stole the N70, 0000, thereby conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace.
The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 168(d), 287, 314, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The court granted the defendants bails in the sum of N500, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.
He adjourned the case until Jan. 8, 2025 for mention.
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