Syekh Puji: Sentenced to 4 Years for Pedophilia...

Pujiono Cahyo Widiyanto (aka Syekh Puji) has been sentenced to four years in prison for procuring a 12-year-old for a sexual relationship. Syekh Puji had been arguing that he had done nothing wrong in God's eyes nor under God's Laws as his 12-year-old bride had begun menstruating before he consummated the marriage.

Syekh Puji is a Muslim and believes that Islam permits his actions. The Syekh also believes that the laws of God are far superior to the laws of 'man'. Men do not have the right to punish him because he has not committed a crime in the eyes of God. The age of consent in Indonesia for females is 16-years-old. The law does not make any exceptions for early puberty or menstruation, or even parental consent.

Well, it would seem that despite his protestations to the counter, the judges of the courts of men (and women) in Semarang decided that the Syekh was in fact guilty of having sex with a minor, Lutfiana Ulfa. It goes without saying that Syekh Puji will appeal this decision. This was confirmed by O.C. Kaligis, the Syekh's lawyer. Kaligis is getting some varied and interesting work of late. Kaligis is also the lawyer for Ariel of Peterpan fame. Ariel is currently on trial in Bandung for his alleged role in the distribution of a couple of home-made sex tapes.

It will be interesting to see what the grounds for appeal are. The law is pretty explicit with respect to the age of consent. So, it is unclear at this point as to where the court may have erred in rendering its judgment.

Pedophilia vs. Distribution of Porn...

This must surely be an anomaly, right? Prosecutors are seeking to have Ariel jailed for 16 years for his alleged involvement in distributing a couple of home made sex tapes, yet the same office of public prosecutors are seeking a mere 6 years for a pedophile Muslim cleric. Go figure.

Does this mean that the distribution of pornography is a far more serious offense than pedophilia? Or is it that because Sheikh Puji has a legitimate argument that underage marriage is permissible in Islam thereby in some way mitigating the seriousness of the breach as it exists under state law?

These are serious questions for Indonesia to answer. It is high time that the president took the high moral ground and involved himself in these sorts of matters and made unequivocal statements as to what it means to be Indonesian. He should also stand up and say "sorry, but the sexual abuse of children is wrong! There is no excuse for it, there is nothing to mitigate the actions of a perpetrator, and anyone committing these crimes will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law". Hopefully, the full extent of the law is a little more than 6 years.

I have posted on Pujiono Cahyo Widiyanto and his marriage to Lutfiana Ulfa. A simple search of the blog will reveal those posts. Here are the essential facts as I recall them: he is 45-years-old and she is 12-years-old (at the time of the marriage), he owns and operates a Muslim Boarding school and uses that to call himself a cleric, he is wealthy, Lutfiana's parents had financial dealings and debts with him, he argues that God's law trumps the laws of man, and in any event she has reached puberty so in a medical sense she is no longer a child.

Perhaps prosecutors could use Article 5(3) of Law No. 1 of 1951 to prosecute the Sheikh as well?

Syekh Puji, Lutfiana Ulfa, and Pregnancy

It is being reported that Lutfiana Ulfa, the 12-year-old bride of Syekh Puji, is already pregnant. I have written about this case here.

In a legal sense this case is a simple one. There are clear violations of the law which are punishable and the Syekh must be investigated and then prosecuted according to those provisions. There can be no ifs, buts, or maybes here. The man by all definitions is a pedophile and a man with a plan to marry more children if and when he has the chance. This makes him a serial pedophile.

There has been a suggestion that the Syekh has handed Lutfiana back to her parents and feels that this returns things to their previous state and absolves him of any further legal troubles. The law has been broken and sending the girl home does not repair that damage.

The video link above (in Indonesian) seems to indicate that there has been no divorce, although I am not sure how you dissolve a marriage that could never have taken place legally.

To the contrary, the lawyers for the Syekh and the Chair of the National Child Protection Commission indicate that the Syekh needs to be patient and wait until Lutfiana is at least 16 years of age. Hence the reason for returning her to her family.

If it turns out that Lutfiana is really pregnant then this whole affair takes on a completely different dimension. Lutfiana continues to profess her love for the Syekh and if the Syekh is the father of her child, then I would not see this love diminishing in the short-term. I am not sure that a 12-year-old knows love outside of perhaps a love for a parent. However, I am not going to judge the girl or what she believes that she feels for this man.

The outcome of this case is still far from clear.

Syekh Puji, Indonesian Law, Pedophilia

Hopefully once the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (Komisi Perlindungan Anak Indonesia / KPAI) make their report to police about Syekh Puji and his marriage to a 12-year-old, the police will have the testicular fortitude to throw the book at this pedophile.

The KPAI team that went to Semarang seem to think that they have sufficient evidence that the marriage was consummated. To be legally correct the fact finding team uses the words very likely that the Syekh had slept with his child bride, Lutfiana Ulfa.

There seems little doubt that this is a valid marriage in the sense of a religious marriage or as it is generally known, kawin siri. However, it is not a valid marriage in terms of Indonesian law. It would be a hard slog to try and prove that a kawin siri type marriage between a 43-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl is recognized in the Marriage Law (Law No. 1 of 1974 -- soft copy in Indonesia if anyone wants it). This would still be the case even where the parents or guardians are said to have given their approval.

What makes this case even more bizarre and sickening than it already is, is the manner in which the whole affair has been played out. Lutfiana was the winner of a bride selection competition where one of the judges was the Syekh's current wife (this would make her complicit in the procurement of a child for sexual exploitation) and some of his followers (also complicit in the procurement of a minor for sex).

This gets even more perverse when one learns that the parents are in considerable financial difficulty and as such were glad that the daughter was chosen. The only thing that could make this even more bizarre and sad is if the parents financial difficulties were in some way related to the man that they eventually sold their daughter to.

The implication quite clearly is that there was a transaction involved in that the parents are in financial difficulties and then not so after marrying off the daughter. This I need to check further because the parents have only said that they hope it improves their financial position and not that it already has.

The KPAI is hoping that the Police will act on this and charge all those involved under Articles 81 - 83 of the Child Protection Law. These articles in essence prohibit the procurement of child for sex. The articles would provide for a term of imprisonment of up to 15 years and a fine in the vicinity of IDR 250 million, if I recall correctly. I need to look at the law (soft copies in Indonesian and English, I think).

The KPAI reckon that before they can call the man a pedophile they would need to get a psychological test. This is one of those shake your head moments. The KPAI are one of the few to do something about this predator and then they come out with the idea they need to psychologically test the man before they can be sure that he is a pedophile.

The evidence speaks for itself. He is married to a 12-year-old and is looking to procure a 9-year-old and a 7-year-old as his next wives. For my mind there is no need to do psychological test on this man, he is a serial predator, a molester of children, a rapist of children, and worthy of jail time. I hear that the inmates of jails have a special liking for men who interfere with children.

The idea that this man is in some way right because he claims he is doing nothing different from the Prophet is ludicrous. He is not the Prophet for starters and has not been granted any special privileges in this regard. Even a cursory reading of the Suras and the Hadiths would highlight that Muhammad was granted special privileges in the marriage game.

It is also pretty likely that Muhammad only slept with his first two wives (I have been talking to people about this offline and learning a thing or two along the way) and that the Hadiths suggest that Muhammad's marriage practices were not to be followed. In fact there is specific mention of not having more than four wives (strict conditions for more than one) and that children are not to be married (I am sure that there will be a reader out there somewhere that can enlighten me on whether I am close to the mark or way off base -- constructive comments welcome because I want to learn more).

It is time that more people came out against this practice. It does not matter that it is rare. What matters is that it happens and it must not. The children of this world are our future, they are our hopes and dreams, and no man (or woman) has a right to strip a child of that future under any circumstances, ever!