Rapists must be severely punished

I agree with your editorial of Jan. 29, Rapists in our midst. All of us who claim to have a conscience should lobby the House of Representatives to increase the punishment for rape. What is regarded as "legal punishment" at present is a mockery of justice and does not deter these offenders.

The minimum jail term for convicted first-time rapists should be 10 years of hard labor. Hard labor should be reintroduced in the new law on rape.

For repeat offenders castration should be considered, as well as a life-time jail sentence in which these rapists should be educated to serve society in as positive and useful a manner as possible, by doing productive work for instance.

A simple death sentence would merely remove these repeat offenders from the face of the earth, while their wretched victims would still continue to experience a life-long living hell in the form of unimaginable mental and physical suffering as well as the "stigma" our society so unjustly places on rape victims.

Ms. Khofifah Indar Parawansa, you are our state minister of the empowerment of women, and we women of Indonesia rely on you to improve the respect for women in our country -- and if very stiff laws are required for this purpose, so be it.

By the way, what happened to the men who brutally raped and even killed an untold number of women and girls in the May 1998 riots? Have they been brought to justice yet?

TAMI KOESTOMO

Bogor, West Java