We laud Buol District Court's decision, which has not only imposed a prison sentence and fine on the defendant but also imposed an additional sentence and chemical castration.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection has welcomed the guilty verdict and strict sentence for BK, who has been convicted of raping his biological child by Central Sulawesi's Buol District Court.

Besides handing down a 16-year prison sentence and a Rp1 billion (around US$64) fine, a district court also sentenced BK to chemical castration and ordered that an electronic tag be fastened onto him and his identity be disclosed.

"We laud Buol District Court's decision, which has not only imposed a prison sentence and fine on the defendant but also imposed an additional sentence and chemical castration," the ministry's deputy for child protection, Nahar (one name), said here on Thursday.

The defendant has been convicted of sexually abusing his 13-year-old child repeatedly. He was sentenced to 9 years in prison for perpetrating a similar crime against his stepchild in the past.

The sentence against the defendant is in accordance with Article 81 of Law No. 17 of 2016 on Child Protection, Nahar said.

The defendant engaged in sexual intercourse with an underage child and was found guilty of violating Article 76D of Law No. 35 of 2014 on Changes to Law No. 23 of 2002 on Child Protection, he added.

The ministry official said that chemical castration is seldom awarded because several aspects need to be satisfied in order to impose it. Since Law No. 17 of 2016 was passed, only six chemical castration sentences have been pronounced, he pointed out.

"The chemical castration sentence and electronic tag use will be imposed after the defendant completes his primary sentence, and it will take place for up to two years," Nahar said.

He said the heavy sentence is expected to serve as a deterrent and reduce sexual violence cases against children.

"The law clearly states that sexual violence threatens a child's strategic role as the nation's future generation, hence, we need to aggravate the sentence and our action against sexual violence suspects," he added.

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Translator: Anita Permata D, Nabil Ihsan
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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