Indonesian woman accused of ‘nagging’ drunk husband cleared of domestic violence

The case went viral on social media after an online petition urged authorities to withdraw charges

An Indonesian woman was acquitted of charges of domestic violence (PA Archive)

A court in Indonesia has acquitted a woman of charges of domestic violence after her husband accused her of nagging him and causing him psychological harm.

Nengsy Lim, a 45-year-old mother of two, was facing the prospect of spending a year in prison under Indonesia’s domestic violence law, reported South China Morning Post (SCMP).

However a court in West Java acquitted her.

It said that there was no evidence that Lim, who has the alias Valencya, committed psychological violence against her ex-husband, Chan Yung Chin, who the court heard was frequently drunk.

Prosecutors claimed she was guilty of violating a law on domestic violence because “she often scolded her husband, Chan Yung Chin, harshly and kicked him out the house”, reported ucanews.com.

The case garnered public attention in Indonesia, and an online petition called on authorities to overturn the charges. The petition was signed by over 7,000 people. There was also a #savevalencya hashtag.

However, despite public outrage, she still had to go to court to conclude the legal process.

“Without the support from the public, I can’t imagine what would’ve happened to me,” Ms Valencya told reporters outside court.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) found that there were 8,234 cases of violence against women recorded in 2020. Of this, 6,480 were cases of domestic violence.

“Domestic violence is still a huge problem in Indonesia. Although we already have the domestic violence law, its implementation on the ground is still lacking, particularly from a law enforcement perspective,” said Tunggal Pawestri, an Indonesian woman rights activist toldSCMP.