Detikcom reported that two Indonesians selling Ipad through the popular www.kaskus.us forum had been prossecuted. Indonesian consumer law Article 8(1) does prohibit business actors to sell computerware without equipping it with Indonesian language manual. Failure to comply entails a 5 year imprisonment. The law was, of course, meant to protect consumer. Sadly, it does not differentiate retail selling with direct selling. As a result, anyone wishing to sell their computer products through direct selling, will be liable for imprisonment, up to 5 years.

Kasus ini bermula ketika Dian dan Rendy menawarkan 2 buah Ipad 3G Wi Fi 64 GB di forum jual beli situs www.kaskus.us. Entah karena apa, tawaran ini membuat anggota polisi Polda Metro Jaya melakukan penyelidikan. Lantas, seorang anggota polisi, Eben Patar Opsunggu, menyamar sebagai pembeli. Transaksi pun dilakukan pada 24 November 2010 di City Walk, Tanah Abang, Jakarta Pusat.

Lantas, keduanya ditangkap polisi. Jaksa Penuntut Umum (JPU) Endang, mendakwa keduanya melanggar Pasal 62 Ayat (1) juncto Pasal 8 Ayat (1) Huruf j UU/ UU 8 Tahun 1999 tentang Perlindungan Konsumen karena tidak memiliki manual book berbahasa Indonesia. Lalu, Pasal 52 juncto Pasal 32 Ayat (1) UU Nomor 36/ 1999 tentang Telekomunikasi, karena I Pad belum terkategori alat elektronik komunikasi resmi. Ancaman pidana penjara paling lama 5 tahun penjara. Kasus ini masih berlangsung di PN Jakarta Pusat.

This is of course, an absolute stupidity, a barrier to trade, and probably a violation of human rights. Judges are expected to be wise when adjudicating this case, but as far as Indonesian judges are concerned, one cannot expect too much, even for something as trivial as this.