Indonesians divided over death, castration for child abusers

Indonesia’s introduction of the death penalty and chemical castration for child sex offenders won applause from the public yesterday but activists warned the punishments would not work as a deterrent to criminals.

President Joko Widodo signed a decree on Wednesday introducing the tougher measures, which also included fitting monitoring devices to offenders after their release from jail, in response to public anger at the fatal gang rape of a schoolgirl. The 14-year-old was snatched by a group of drunken men and boys on western Sumatra island in April and was found days later in woods.

The case sparked a national debate about sexual violence and as more reports of sex attacks emerged, pressure mounted on the government to take action.

The new punishments mostly won praise in Indonesia, where there is strong backing for the death penalty, with members of the public and lawmakers voicing support.

“Castration is intended to have a deterrent effect and prevent repeat sexual offences,” said lawmaker Abdul Malik Haramain, from the Islamic party the National Awakening Party, which is part of the ruling coalition.

He insisted castration would not violate human rights, as offenders would go through a legal process before the punishment was handed down.