JAKARTA, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- A candidate for the Indonesian Supreme Court has sparked outrage by suggesting rape victims enjoy being assaulted, lawyers and rights groups said.
Daming Sanusi made the comment earlier this week before a parliamentary commission hearing held to determine his fitness for the court, CNN reported Wednesday.
Responding to a question Monday about whether the death penalty should be applied in rape cases, Daming said, "Consideration needs to be taken thoroughly for the imposition of death penalty for a rapist because in a rape case both the rapist and the victim enjoy it."
Responses to his remarks called for Daming's candidacy for the Supreme Court to axed, CNN said, quoting Indonesia's official news agency.
"We ask legislators not to give the judge position to Daming, as he had offended people's feeling by uttering inappropriate statement," Ridwan Bakar, an Indonesian Legal Aid Foundation spokesman, said Tuesday.
Daming apologized, saying his words were "out of control" and explaining he was nervous and made the comment as a joke.
Indonesian political figures were distancing themselves from Daming and his chances of being selected as a Supreme Court justice were fading, CNN said.
Gede Pasek Suardika, the parliamentary commission chairman, said Daming's remarks were inappropriate and the public outcry would be taken into consideration.
