INDONESIA CAUTIONED OF BEING TARGETED BY PEDOPHILES

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, March 22 (Antara) - Child sexual abuse is one of the problems often faced by Indonesia, and the government is committed to tackling the menace by imposing severe punishment, such as castration, on pedophiles involved in such crimes.         Despite the government imposing severe punishment, cases of sexual abuse against children continue to occur. Perpetrators of child abuse are taking advantage of the advancements in information technology to develop their networks.         The Jakarta Police, for instance, had successfully unearthed a pedophile network operating under the account name "Official Candy's Group" on Facebook and arrested its administrators on Tuesday, last week (Mar 14).         According to the police, the Official Candy's Group network had connections to 11 similar groups that perpetrated crimes against children in several countries. Jakarta Police Head Insp. Gen. Mochammad Iriawan stated at a press conference that the Jakarta Police's Cyber Crime Sub-directorate had arrested four administrators of the group.         Hence, the Jakarta Police has warned that Indonesia should guard against being targeted by pedophiles who commit sexual violence against children.

INDONESIA CONSIDERING CASTRATING CHILD SEX OFFENDERS

by Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, Oct 22 (Antara) - Indonesia is planning to impose castration punishment on child rapists, or pedophiles, in a bid to combat the alarming rise in the cases of sexual violence against children in the country.          The government is still studying the legal aspect of adopting policies or a government regulation in lieu of the law on imposing gelding punishment on child sex abusers.           Relevant agencies, such as the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, the Attorney General's Office, the Ministry of Women and Children Empowerment, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Health, non-governmental organizations, and other related agencies are studying the matter.         "We are studying the legal aspect of imposing castration punishment on child rapists before we decide to issue a regulation on it," Minister of Law and Human Rights Yasonna Laoly stated after attending the opening of the ASEAN Law Ministers' Meeting (ALAWMM) in Bali on Thursday.           The punishment can be imparted through various approaches to reduce the libido of the offenders, such as libido neurosurgery and injections. Castration does not necessarily mean the removal of the testicles of the offenders.          Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa stated that the discourse on the imposition of a gelding punishment through a libido neurosurgery surfaced as part of the efforts to protect children from sexual abuse.

SUKABUMI PEDOPHILIA CASE 'TOP OF AN ICEBERG'

By Andi Abdussalam

Jakarta, May 6 (Antara) - After the reports of sexual abuse of a 6-year-old pupil, AK, last month at the Jakarta International School (JIS) shocked the public, a similar case has been revealed in Sukabumi, West Java.          In the JIS case, kindergarten pupil AK and another boy, whose name has not yet been revealed, were victims of sexual assaults by five suspects.      Since the investigation of Sukabumi case started four days ago, the number of victims reporting to the police has increased and has reached 95. Police have arrested one suspect, 24-year-old Emon alias AS, and are hunting another suspect, whose name or initial is yet to be made public.          On Saturday (May 3), Indonesians were shocked at the news of Emon or AS, a citizen of Citamiang Subdistrict, West Java province, who had allegedly sexually abused 51 little boys in his neighborhood.