He's such a pig, but...

Hey! Back from a long traveling, I was struck by this news about a regent in Garut, West Java. He married a young woman only to divorce her four days later via an sms. Because he found out - or he thought - she was not a virgin. What a prick, this regent.

Apparently this has made into the headlines, invited public anger, and become topic du jour. Even the president who usually shies away from important issues, comments. Some activists made a petition calling for impeachment of the naughty public official. Underage, illegal marriage, said them.

I asked some friends who know laws and regulations. I was told that the minimum legal age for women in Indonesia is 17 years old. If this is true, than it is not an underage marriage - according to the news, the poor lady was 18 when she married him.

Some accused the bastard of committing a child trafficking - they said there was some money involved in making sure the marriage happen. Again I asked around. I haven't found a clear answer. But isn't trafficking a two-side transaction? If the regent was really buying her out, I would think the "seller" deserved punishment, too (even more). That's her parents.

So what I'm saying is, as much as I hate this guy, it seems that the legal case against him is weak. I just hope the poor woman sues him for, say, defamation or something like that. (I read his derogatory comment equalling his ex-wife to some merchandise that you could return when "the spec isn't right". My goodness!).