"We are still making the draft of the relevant law and will discuss it soon with the House of Representatives," Patrialis said.
He said under the new law, perpetrators of light crimes need no longer be sentenced to jail terms. Instead they would be required to do community work in hospitals, schools or other public places.
The minister said the police should be flexible in interpreting the law in Indonesia. "For example, if someone is proven to have stolen something from other people but the victim has forgive him and the stolen object has been returned or replaced, I don`t see why the offender has to be sent to jail," said the minister.
"The most important thing is that after serving his sentence, the offender has learned not repeat the same act in the future," the minister said.
However, he emphasized that the alternative sanction was not applicable to recidivists or repeat offenders. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
