Here’s a precedent for the punishment of a very specific crime.
Earlier this month, 56-year-old Masriah was caught on camera pouring urine on her neighbor’s house in Sidoarjo, East Java – something she has reportedly been doing since 2017.
Local police subsequently charged Masriah with causing a public disturbance under a Sidoarjo regional bylaw, which led to the Sidoarjo District Court sentencing her to one month in prison today.
Weighing against Masriah’s case was the fact that she apologized to her neighbor for defiling their property six years ago, but went on to regularly pour urine at their house after that.
An extenuating factor is that the court recognizes that Masriah was sincere in her apology after she was caught this time around.
Her neighbors’ legal representative said they were hoping that Masriah would be sentenced to three months in prison.
One member of the victims’ household, Wiwik, said that Masriah had been pouring urine on her house almost every day for six years. She said that Masriah would also throw garbage and dirty water at her house.
When police got involved, Masriah told the authorities that she was keen on driving Wiwik and her family away. The house, police said, formerly belonged to Masriah’s sibling before it was sold to Wiwik. Masriah has been keen to own the property ever since.
