How to Catch a Hardened Criminal?

(2/22/2008)

The Bali Post reports that a meeting of a select committee to control the spread of HIV/AIDS in Bali has proposed a number of steps to curb that diseases, including a plan to fine men Rp. 50 million (US$5,435) when they engage in sex without using a condom.

Also on the agenda of the meeting attended by representatives of Bali's provincial government and the Island's health officials were discussions on how best to pay for HIV/AIDS screening among those at risk of infection and provide medical support to those who found infected with the disease.

Despite some obvious problems of enforcement, local officials continue to consider introducing a local law that will fine men who fail to use condom when engaging in sex. The regulation would require those considered at risk of HIV/AIDS infection to undergo medical screening and use condoms. Fines for failure to follow the rules run as high as Rp. 50 million – a fortune on an island where many do not earn that amount in a single year.

How to Catch a Hardened Criminal?

A local community worker attending the meeting ask how the government would deal with the technical and practical problems of implementing such a regulation: How would enforcement officials check compliance?

While the most obvious solution to the imbroglio would be to include a neutral witness during moments of human intimacy, such a solution might run afoul of anti-pornography rules now under consideration by the national parliament.