Indonesia could “wipe out” paedophilia with its new policy of chemical castration, President Joko Widodo has claimed.
The country passed controversial laws earlier this month authorising chemical castration for paedophiles.
Mr Widodo said although Indonesia respected human rights, there would be “no compromise” when it came to punishing such sexual crimes.
“Our constitution respects human rights, but when it comes to sexual crimes there is no compromise,” he told the BBC.
“We are strong and we will be very firm. We will hand out the maximum penalty for sexual crimes.”
He added: “In my opinion… chemical castration, if we enforce it consistently, will reduce sex crimes and wipe them out over time.”
The Indonesian Doctors Association says its members should not be involved as the procedure would violate medical ethics.
There has been a series of high-profile cases of child sex abuse in the country.
