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View all search resultsRiau Islands ready to impose community sentences, governor says
Riau Islands province has signaled it is ready to implement community service as an alternative punishment for criminal offenses carrying a maximum five years in prison or a fine of Rp 10 million when the new KUHP goes into effect on Jan. 2.
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Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad (center right) and J. Devy Sudarso (center left), head of the Riau Islands Prosecutor's Office, hold up copies of a memorandum of understanding on community sentences on Dec. 4, 2025, during a signing ceremony in provincial capital Tanjungpinang. (Courtesy of Riau Islans provincial administration/-)
T
he administration of Riau Islands has indicated its readiness to impose community service as a form of punishment ahead of Jan. 2, 2026, when the new Criminal Code (KUHP) comes into force.
During a ceremony on Thursday in Tanjungpinang, Riau Islands Governor Ansar Ahmad and Riau Islands Prosecutor’s Office head J. Devy Sudarso signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to signal the province’s readiness to sentence criminal offenders to community service in line with Law No. 1/2023 on the KUHP.
The signing was witnessed by Agung Soenanto, a director with the office of the Deputy Attorney General for General Crimes.
Governor Ansar said community service was a key component of the restorative justice approach used by the new KUHP, adding that judicial reform should be more humanistic and provide space for offenders to develop.
“Community service is more than simply punishment, but a way for offenders to understand their mistakes and improve themselves through real contributions to society,” Ansar said in a press release issued on Thursday.
Mayors and regents in the province would be responsible for implementing and overseeing community service sentences, he said, emphasizing they “must ensure that community service places are beneficial, do not denigrate offenders and are not commercialized”.
Devy said the new punishment mechanism aimed to prioritize restorative justice and reduce negative impacts from short-term imprisonment.
