- Even couples living together out of wedlock and have sex to face year in jail
- Part of a raft of proposals which include a ban on witchcraft and black magic
- Bid to revise laws based on laws of former colonial ruler, the Netherlands
By Matt Blake
PUBLISHED: 10:59 EST, 22 March 2013 | UPDATED: 11:12 EST, 22 March 2013
Unmarried singles who have sex in Indonesia could be jailed for up to five years under new laws tabled by the government, it was revealed today.
Even couples who live together out of wedlock will not escape the harsh new rules and could be imprisoned for one year if caught in amorous congress.
The unusual sex embargo was proposed as part of a raft of new edicts which also includes a ban on witchcraft and black magic which – if proved to have caused ‘someone’s illness, death, mental or physical suffering’ – will carry a five-year prison term.
Sex embargo: Even couples who live together out of wedlock will not escape the harsh new rules and could be imprisoned for one year if caught in amorous congress
The strict regulations were revealed by the country’s Justice and Human Rights Ministry director general for legislation Wahiduddin Adams.
‘[Singles engaging in premarital sex] is liable for up to five years in jail,’ he said, adding: ‘Our society is not like in the old penal code that allows this.’
While Indonesia has long followed a moderate version of Islam, an emphasis on Muslim practices and identity with Islamic traditions has gathered pace in recent years.
Beliefs in witchcraft and mysticism are widespread, especially on the main island of Java. Many Indonesians are generally relaxed about homosexuality.
Jailed: In November last year, Brit Rebecca Blake was sentenced to three months in a Dubai jail for having drunken sex in the back of a taxi
The plans are part of efforts to revise sections of the criminal code still largely based on laws of the former colonial ruler, the Netherlands, and have apparently gained the support of other members of the country’s parliament.
‘I think, it would be good if this is regulated,’ People’s Conscience Party MP Syarifuddin Sudding said.
Parliamentary speaker Marzuki Alle caused international outrage last year when he proposed a ban on the miniskirt, targetting female politicians who chose to wear skirts above the knee.
Mr Alle said he was preparing draft rules banning female politicians and staff members from wearing mini-skirts because ‘there have been a lot of rape cases and other immoral acts recently and this is because women aren’t wearing appropriate clothes’.
He added: ‘You know what men are like – provocative clothing will make them do things.’
But Indonesia is not the only nation with strict laws governing sex.
In November last year, Brit Rebecca Blake was sentenced to three months in a Dubai jail for having drunken sex in the back of a taxi.
The £100,000-a-year recruitment consultant was accused of stripping naked and writhing on top of Irishman Conor McRedmond, 28, in a Dubai cab. McRedmond was handed the same sentence for his part in the tryst.
Their taxi driver alerted police after spotting Blake in his rearview mirror with her top off, straddling McRedmond and ‘making the sounds of a woman having sex’.
They were the latest expats to fall foul of the United Arab Emirates’ strict laws preventing drunkenness in public and sex outside marriage.
In 2008, Vince Acors, 38, and Michelle Palmer, 40, were jailed for three months for having sex on a beach. The sentence was suspended on appeal.
And in 2009 Charlotte Adams and Ayman Najafi spent a month in jail after an Emirati woman complained they were kissing in public.
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