TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The possible legal punishment for unmarried couples who check in at hotels which are said to be overseen by the Draft Criminal Code Bill (RKUHP), dubbed by the public as the ‘adultery Article’, attracted reactions from hotel stakeholders.

Recently, Maulana Yusran, who is the secretary of the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI), said that the Article has entered the private domain.

Maulana argues that if such an Article is passed into law, where aspects of society’s private domain are criminalized, the tourism sector will sustain a huge blow as it would repel international tourists from Indonesia.

“Things like this actually enter the private domain. Now, if this is considered a crime, the situation will be complicated,” said Maulana to Tempo on Tuesday, October 25.

"Surely many choose to go abroad, instead of going on vacation it becomes a problem," Maulana explained and implied that such a situation would require tourists to prove their marriage through a legal document, which he argues would be impossible to enforce.

Maulana also insists that adultery does not exclusively happen in hotel accommodations, but rather in any other locations possible.

He also noted that the Bill, if passed, would make it more difficult for the hotel industry to recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Draft Bill’s dissemination spokesperson Alber Aries denies that there is an Article that would criminalize adultery in hotels.

"What is contained in the Criminal Code Bill is Article 415 concerning Adultery and Article 416 concerning Cohabitation, which are intended to respect and maintain the institution of marriage," said Albert to Tempo on Sunday, October 23.

In addition, Albert also added that Articles 415 and 416 of the RKUHP are also complaint offenses. This means that the complaint can only be made by a partner for cohabitation actors who are bound by marital status or parents for those who are not yet bound by marital status.

"So there will be no legal process related to adultery or cohabitation without direct complaints from parties who have rights who feel aggrieved," said Albert.

DEFARA DHANYA PARAMITHA

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