Last Friday, Indonesia enacted its new penal code, replacing colonial-era laws that had governed the country for over a century. The legal reform implements a new national criminal code (KUHP) and a criminal procedures code (KUHAP). The measure shifts Indonesia’s criminal system from a retributive to a restorative model, prioritizing rehabilitation and social reintegration over punishment.
The KUHP introduces alternative penalties such as community service, mediation, and medical rehabilitation for drug offenses, aiming to reduce prison overcrowding. Other notable changes include criminalizing sex outside marriage and reintroducing penalties for insulting the president and state institutions. The KUHAP enhances investigative, prosecutorial, and trial procedures. It also introduces digital systems to improve the judicial system’s efficiency. The Associated Press has more about the new penal code here.
Travel agent scams victims out of thousands. Tavia Thomas, a New York-based travel agent, was arrested after allegedly scamming customers out of tens of thousands of dollars. According to a release issued by the Nassau County Police Department, in July 2024, Thomas allegedly received $35,753.98 for a Royal Caribbean Cruise from nine victims. When the expecting travelers arrived at the port in Bayonne, N.J., an employee informed them that the tickets they had were for a cruise that did not exist.
That same month, Thomas allegedly received a total of $7,660 from several people for a destination wedding but never booked the venues and did not provide refunds. In September 2024, a woman booked a trip to the Dominican Republic through Thomas’s agency, paying $10,034.16 for herself and 50 family members. Thomas allegedly never paid for the accommodations, and the family was never refunded.
German bank heist. Right before the new year, thieves stole tens of millions of euros worth of property from safety deposit boxes inside a German bank vault. A fire alarm summoned police officers and firefighters to the bank branch shortly before 4 a.m. on December 29. They found a hole in the wall and the vault ransacked. Police believe a large drill was used to break through the vault’s basement wall. The theft is estimated to have been worth between 10 million and 90 million euros, the equivalent of about $11.7 million to $105.7 million. About 2,700 bank customers were affected.
Louvre ups security measures. The Louvre has installed bars on the window that was used to break into its Apollo Gallery back in October. Joe headlined the heist in this news roundup. To recap, a team of thieves posing as workers used a freight lift to slice through the window to enter the gallery. They grabbed tiaras, emerald earrings, a sapphire necklace and other treasures, and eight minutes later they were gone. All four suspected thieves have been arrested and charged, but the jewels—reportedly worth $102 million—have not been found.
Gotta catch ‘em all. A man was reportedly robbed at gunpoint in Los Angeles for his rare collection of Pokémon cards, estimated to be worth around $300,000. The incident occurred as the man entered an underground parking garage after leaving a trading card store. He was held at gunpoint by two suspects who had also been at the shop earlier.
This was one of two recent crimes connected to stolen Pokémon cards. Officers responded to a theft at a shopping center in Simi Valley the same weekend. The officers discovered that thieves broke into a shop with a chainsaw, then broke display cases and stole the cards inside, reportedly making off with at least $50,000 in valuable cards. So far, no arrests have been made in either case.
The School of Government is hiring! In case you missed the announcement in the last news roundup, we are currently looking to fill three positions: Assistant Professor of Family Law; Legal Research Associate; and Local Government Law Fellow. For more details about each position and how to apply, see this post from my colleague, Sara.
