The Indonesian president, Joko Widodo has signed a decree which sets chemical castration as penalty for convicted child sex offenders.
The decree further provided the use of electronic monitoring device on offenders who have been released on parole.
The new decree is in response to the rising child sex offences in the country especially the case of a 14-year-old girl who was raped and murdered in April by a gang.
In the case, seven teenage boys from the gang who were arrested were each sentenced to a jail term of 10 years.
However, the incident and subsequent judgement passed on the offenders sparked controversy which led to the revival of the previous calls for chemical castration as a punishment against child sex offenders.
Mr Joko said: “The inclusion of such an amendment will provide space for the judge to decide severe punishments as a deterrent effect on perpetrators.
“These crimes have undermined the development of children, and these crimes have disturbed our sense of peace, security and public order.
“So, we will handle it in an extraordinary way”.
He further added that “sexual violence against children has increased significantly” in the country. In line with this, he also increased the jail sentences for child sex offenders to a maximum of 20 years as against the previous 10 years limit.
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