Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar expressed his anger over the recent trial of an old woman who was accused of stealing three cacao fruits worth Rp 30,000 from a plantation in the Central Java town of Banyumas.
Patrialis called the trial, which appeared on the front page of the country’s largest daily, Kompas, on Friday, “embarrassing”.
“I think it is very embarrassing. Law enforcers must also uphold humanitarian values,” Patrialis said after attending the inauguration of National Boyscout leaders outside the State Palace.
The Banyumas District Court sentenced Minah, 55, to a one-and-a-half-month suspended jail term. Minah, who stood trial without an attorney, said she took the fruits in September to grow the plant from its seeds.
Patrialis said the case had inspired him to promote reform within the country's judicial system.
“We will mend the system. Our prisons are already overcrowded,” he said as quoted by kompas.com.
Patrialis said his proposal, however, would not intervene with Minah's case.
“We do not have the power to intervene. But we can draft a new policy and seek a presidential pardon for her,” Patrialis said.
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