Complaining on the internet could result in a jail term in Indonesia

balinews

The case of Prita Mulyasari, a mother of two, is currently the hot topic among Indonesian bloggers. She wrote an online complaint letter [id] against a private hospital in Tangerang, one of Jakarta’s suburban areas, and now she is being charged for violating chapter 27 verse 3 of the Information and Electronic Transaction Law (UU ITE) [id]. Prita shared her experience of being maltreated by the hospital on a mailing-list. The hospital took legal action against her. That online complaint may result into six years jail term and maximum fine of 1 billion Rupiah (nearly USD $98,000). Read more: Page Not Found - Law Vibe

davita

I know this must be really old news as I was visiting the Omni Hospital at the time when it happened...my mother-in-law (since passed) was in intensive care. I've just searched and the case goes back to 2008....https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prita_Mulyasari. The court overturned her conviction and sentence...mainly because of the public's reaction. This was the reason why I described the defamation law could be misused.....in advice I gave to someone on another thread.

davita

@ Markit post #3 There is a difference...most countries have civil defamation laws to protect reputations.....but they are not criminal, where jail-time is the penalty!

Markit

What would be the difference for the company, oh great oracle, if someone was driven to bankruptcy through false statements or if someone walked in off the street and stole all the money? Civil defamation laws are written by the rich and for the rich. Ever hear of a small country called England? Check out their defamation laws. Only the rich can afford to use them.

Markit

I always think this stuff here in Indo is interesting for the outcry that comes from the liberal tree-huggers about human rights and freedom of expression. This "legislation" is used to silence unwelcome voices or uncomfortable people. As with many things here it's really easy to "cast a stone" forgetting the glass house most of us come from. Having worked for larger corporations in the US/Germany/UK I would just point out that most of them have banks of lawyers either in house or on permanent retainer that can be pointed and fired at a moments notice to blanket unwelcome voices or uncomfortable people with spurious lawsuits that will nevertheless bankrupt the recipient and take years to refute regardless of their lack of validity. There are better ways to feck with the powers that (wanna)be