Friday, November 26, 2010

Legalization of Alterina's Sex Status

Alterina Hofan, right, ended with the court finding that he is a man. He faced charges of fraud because he was registered female at birth and only later developed male genitalia. Wife Jane Deviyanti, left, never ceased to stand by her man. (JG Photo/Afriadi Hikmal)
Last Tuesday, the District Court of South Jakarta has cleared Alterina Hofan (33) of Criminal charges i.e. Identity Fraud and Falsifying Documents, therefore legalized his status as a man.

The Court decides that although Alterina has falsified his documents as charged by the Prosecutor, however considering that this was done merely for his interest and did not inflict loss on other people,  therefore the Court has not regard it as a Crime.                        

The case began on 1 October 2009 when Bernard Hadipuspito dan Grace Maria reported Alterina to the Jakarta Police for marrying their daughter Jane (23) in Las Vegas, U.S.A, on September 2009. Bernard, CEO of Binus University Jakarta, claimed that Alterina is a female therefore cannot marry their daughter. He alleged that Alterina has falsified his identity. As a result of this report Alterina was detained by the Police from 30 April until 31 May 2010.

The Court trials revealed that according to his birth certificate, Alterina was born as a baby girl in Jayapura, Papua on 1 November 1977. At the age of 7, male genitalia began to develop, followed by breasts.later on.
In 2006, Alterina went to a hospital in Canada to remove of the breasts.
And in 2009, the Public Registrar office in Jayapura legalized Alterina's status as a male. 

The Court made it's decision after its all-male-judges closely observed that Alterina has a small penis, but no vagina. 

In reaction to the above Court Verdict, the Prosecutor has stated its plan to file an appeal against it.

Sources :
Court Declares Alterina Male on Eyewitness Testimony (The Jakarta Globe)
Pengadilan Lepaskan Alter Dari Segala Tuntutan (Hukumonline)
Alterina Lelaki Sejati Dibebaskan PN Jaksel (Warta Kota)

Photo :  Courtesy of The Jakarta Globe.

16 comments:

ReBorn said...

this news make me confused. if they loves each other, why it should be criticized? what is the motive behind their marriage?

Tutorial SEO said...

ohh yang si itu tea . . . hmmm menurut saya itu salah satu kasus hukum yang aneh ~_~

dee said...

wow.. stated as a male i think that's really is what she wanted, gender transition might be still weird in our Country. Hopefully for the best and clear problem regarding this.. long way to get status as a male or female as she want" Thanks Harry for posting this! Great info

Yari NK said...

What are Alterina's sex chromosomes? If 'she' still has a pair of XX chromosomes, genetically she is still a woman, no matter how many surgeries she has been through to remove her female genitals or to add artificial male genitals and regardless of her legal sex status. But it's lucky for her, the legal sex status in this country is still based on the physical look rather than genetic sex chromosomes. ;)

However, if she is happy with what she is now, it doesn't matter anymore whether she's genetically XX or not. To me, even she does not have to transform herself into a male and be a pair of lesbians if that what they originally like. But again, I know what had become the problem for them: the same sex marriage, which is not still acceptable in this country... ;)

TUKANG CoLoNG said...

wah aku belum denger nih berita ini..:)

colson said...

I pity the couple for all this more or less rancid publicity about their private lives.

Fortunately the court seems to have been wiser ( though by a peculiar reasoning) than the father of the bride was when he pressed charges.

Unknown said...

@ReBorn,
In Indonesia a marriage can only be done between a man and a woman. Jane's parents knew that Alterina was born as a baby girl, so they objected her marriage to Alterina.
Re: motive of the marriage, according to news both love each other like a man love a woman.

@Tutorial SEO,
Kasus ini memang beda dibandingkan kasus2 lainnya.

@Dee,
The prosecutor may file an appeal against the court's decision, if they do that Alterina's status would be still be uncertain.

@Yari,
According to the news, Alterina has a confusing dual chromosome. But based on experts' testimony and the judges' own observation show that Alterina has a penis an no vagina. This can be always be the result of medical operations, but surely the judges would not be careless in making decision.

@TUKANG CoLoNG,
Silakan membaca sumber-2 berita yang saya cantumkan.

@Colson,
In Indonesia marriage among same gender is unknown therefore this case became very controversial.
In this regards the objection raised by Jane's parents can be understood.

colson said...

@ Harry: This is not a same sex marriage, is it? By local logic ( I owe that to Yari NK) "she" is a "he".

(By the way, but not surprisingly to you, going by "my" values it would be better if such a decision of getting married was up to the two consenting adults involved only.)

Unknown said...

Hi Colson,
When the couple married, Altrina's status has already been changed from her birth status as female into a male i.e. through medical operation and documentations.
So this is not a same-sex marriage that's why I referred to Altrina as "he".
I agree that marriage should be determined by couple themselves.
However, considering Altrina's back ground, I can understand why his wife's parents raised objection.

Jolly Princess said...

Woooo! This is breaking news! I enjoyed reading. Thanks for sharing.. :)

Seiri Hanako said...

kasihan juga sih yang dapet kelainan genetik malah dikaitkan dengan hukum
menurutku Indonesia masih kurang modern dalam hal ini

waroeng coffee said...

hmmm nice story, tq 4 share :)

sawali tuhusetya said...

wah, ternyata status jenis kelamin pun bisa berubah. hingga saat ini saya belum dapat info terbaru, faktor apa sesungguhnya gejala seperti ini bisa terjadi?

Unknown said...

@JP,
You are welcome.

@Seiri,
Memang menyedihkan kisahnya.

@Waroeng Coffee,
Thank you for your comment.

@Sawali,
Saya kurang mengerti mengenai kelamin/genetika. Mungkin ini seperti kelainan lainnya : homosexual, lesbian dll.

Rob Baiton said...

@ Harry...

I have gotta say that it is a little creepy, and a lot gratuitous, that the judges wanted a private first-hand viewing of the genitals to satisfy their curiosity. I guess this was justified by noting that there were two competing reports from two competent doctors, so a viewing was necessary.

Seriously though, what is the prosecutor going to appeal? That he really is a woman because of an erroneous birth certificate? If it is accepted that he only has male genitalia then shouldn't that be enough to settle the question?

Then again, the XX vs. XY chromosome argument is probably where it is at scientifically. The chromosomes are definitive even if the physical features are not.

It is an interesting case.

I wonder what hoops he would have had to jump through to get his birth certificate legally changed? Perhaps this was a factor in his decision to just change it himself?

Unknown said...

Hi Rob,

This is an interesting case
indeed, the first of its kind here.
Therefore the judges want to check by themselves in spite of evidences and expert witness' statement.
I am interested to know what the prosecutor want to appeal.