Baim Wong Furious About Cat Abuse In Serpong, Asks Jokowi To Revise Article 302 Of The Criminal Code

ILUSTRASI / IS

JAKARTA - Muhammad Ibrahim, known as Baim Wong, was furious at the maltreatment of cats in the school area in Serpong, South Tangerang. Baim Wong wants animal molesters to be severely punished.

"I really regret this incident happened and I will investigate it thoroughly. Hopefully, the government will tighten the law on animal abuse. If not, there will always be events like this,” said Baim Wong via Instagram account, as quoted by baimwong, Tuesday, March 23.

Baim Wong met with security guard Mulyadi whose video went viral when he had an argument with Felix who was abusing a cat. Baim Wong hopes that the government will revise Article 302 of the Criminal Code which regulates the legal sentence for animal torturers.

For Baim Wong, the punishment for torturing animals is very low, namely a maximum of 3 months in prison or a fine of IDR 4,500 for light maltreatment. If mistreatment results in the death of an animal, Article 302 paragraph 2 of the Criminal Code provides for a maximum penalty of 9 months in prison.

"The laws that apply in Indonesia are like this, if I'm not mistaken, the perpetrators are only subjected to Article 302 of the Criminal Code, which has a very little penalty. This is the law of the Dutch era, it has not been revised until now. The punishment is so low that people can pay and repeat it again,” said Baim Wong.

Therefore, Paula Verhoeven's husband asked the Jokowi government to revise the Criminal Code. In addition, Baim Wong asked the government to make a classification that differentiates livestock from wild animals.

"There are still many wildlife that has not been categorized as protected. For example, there are still many wild animals that are not endangered. Even though it still has legal protection. Animals that are not threatened with extinction must still have a law to protect them. But in Indonesia there isn't any," said Baim Wong.

The conclusion, according to Baim Wong, is that the weakness of animal protection laws makes cases of crimes against animals more rampant.

"Because there is no legal basis. There is a law, but it is weak and does not provide a deterrent effect. People easily pay and repeat it back," said Baim Wong.