Jakarta –
There is only one step left for the DPR to approve the draft penal code. Parliament and the government believe that the draft penal code replaces the penal code left over from the Dutch colonizers which is more than a century old.
One of its contents concerns couples who live in the same house without being married or commonly called cohabitations.
“Anyone who cohabits as husband and wife outside marriage is subject to imprisonment for a maximum of 6 (six) months or a maximum category II fine,” reads the aforementioned RKUHP article 414 paragraph 1 detik comFriday (11/25/2022).
However, it is not easy to convict those guilty of cohabitation because they have to press charges. Those entitled to the complaint are:
1. Husband or wife for persons related by marriage; or
2. Parents or children for unmarried persons
“Complaints can be withdrawn until the judicial examination has begun”, reads article 414, paragraph 4.
The RKUHP also expands the article on adultery. In the current Dutch penal code, one of the adulterers must be in wedlock or both adulterous partners. Now all sex outside of marriage is adultery.
“Anyone who has relations with a person who is not the husband or wife is punished for adultery with the maximum imprisonment of 1 (one) year or with the maximum fine of the II category”, states article 413, paragraph 1.
However, the above article only applies if there is a complaint by a husband or wife for persons who are related by marriage or parents or children for persons who are not related by marriage.
“Complaints can be withdrawn until the judicial examination has begun”, reads article 413, paragraph 4.
Where does the current Penal Code come from?
The current Penal Code in Indonesia is the French Napoleonic Code which came into force in 1810. France then colonized the Netherlands and France imposed the Penal Code in the Netherlands in 1881.
Then the Dutch introduced the penal code in Indonesia when they colonized the archipelago. The Dutch colonial government also imposed code was nationwide in 1918 under the name Wet Wetboek van Strafrecht.
Wet Wetboek van Strafrecht thus replaced all existing laws in the archipelago, from customary law to religious penal law. Local values were also eroded by colonial law. The proclamation of independence announced on August 17, 1945 did not immediately change the applicable law.
See also the video “RKUHP completion hampered by out-of-sync items”:
(asp/rdp)
