BRITS face up to one year behind bars if they romp while travelling in Indonesia as sex outside marriage has been officially banned.
Tourists have been warned lovemaking is off-limits for unwed couples after the strict new laws were approved by parliament.
GettyCouples caught having sex outside of marriage in Indonesia face up to a year behind bars[/caption]
The legislation, set to be passed later this month, was approved by all nine parties in a sweeping overhaul of the legal code on Tuesday.
Living with your partner before heading down the altar will also be outlawed and punishable by up to six months in jail.
The new laws will apply to foreign residents as well as tourists who descend on holiday hotspots such as Bali and the islands off Lombok.
The revised code, which also criminalised adultery, is set to make it more difficult for unmarried couples to check into hotel rooms.
A previous draft of the controversial new laws was initially set to be passed in 2019, but was delayed due to nationwide protests.
The decision to pass the legislation banning sex outside marriage has again sparked outrage among locals and holidaymakers alike.
Critics branded the move a huge setback to human rights in the world’s most populous Muslim country.
Concerns have been raised that the rules could majorly impact the LGBTQ community in Indonesia, where same-sex marriage is illegal.
Rights groups have denounced the laws as a crackdown on civil liberties and political freedoms in wake of Tuesday’s decision.
Amnesty International Indonesia director Usman Hamid said: “We are going backward.
“Repressive laws should have been abolished but the bill shows that the arguments of scholars abroad are true, that our democracy is indisputably in decline.”
The new laws are expected to be passed on December 15, Indonesia’s deputy justice minister, Edward Omar Sharif Hiariej, told Reuters.
A provision in the text, which still needs to be signed by the president, states the new criminal code will be applicable in three years.
But business organisations have warned Indonesian officials the harsh rules will drive tourists away from visiting the nation.
They suggested investment opportunities and tourism would be “negatively” impacted by the move.
US ambassador to Indonesia Sung Yong Kim said he was concerned “morality clauses” in the criminal code could be detrimental.
Around a hundred protestors took to the streets to oppose the bill on Monday in a dramatic display.
Demonstrators unfurled a yellow banner that read “reject the passing of the criminal code revision”, with some dropping flower petals on the sign to resemble a funeral.
Another protest to reject the new law is scheduled to be held on Tuesday in front of the parliament building.