Heru Andriyanto – The tough response from police to the current sex-video scandal, allegedly involving some of the country's top celebrities, has left many people worried about the legal consequences of what they get up to in the bedroom.

In naming pop star Nazril "Ariel" Irham a suspect for documenting his sexual exploits with two famous television presenters, police have used articles from the controversial Anti-Pornography Law, Information and Electronic Transactions (ITE) Law and sections of the Criminal Code covering public indecency.

While there is so far no proof that Ariel made the racy videos accessible to the public – the main focus of the charges he faces – his arrest raises concerns that even the mere act of having extramarital sex may risk a jail term.

So, is adultery actually a crime? Article 284 of the Criminal Code clearly states that extramarital affairs are "a crime by accusation" – this means it can be prosecuted only if the affected spouse files a complaint with police.

For instance, Cut Tari, one of the women allegedly featured in the widely seen online videos, could not be charged unless her husband, Johannes Yusuf Subrata, officially reported the incident to police. And that is even if it can be proved that Cut Tari and Yusuf were married at the time the video was made.

Premarital sex, on the other hand, while frowned upon by Indonesia's largely conservative society, is not a crime – unless it is incestuous, involves a minor or involves violence or force. None of these conditions seem to have been present in the other sex videos, which allegedly feature Ariel with his current girlfriend, actress Luna Maya.

In Ariel's case, police appear to have focused their probe on the illicit production and distribution of pornographic materials. The Anti-Pornography Law carries a jail sentence of 12 years for those proven to have produced and distributed pornography that explicitly shows sexual intercourse, deviant sexual behavior, sadomasochism, masturbation, nudity and sex with children.

But criminal law expert Edi Hiariej, from Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University, has warned police against applying the law in Ariel's case because a supplementary explanation of the law clearly excludes material recorded for private and personal use.

"Police cannot charge Ariel with the law, unless they can prove that he was the first person to distribute those videos or to make them accessible on the Internet," Edi told the Jakarta Globe this week.

Furthermore, the Anti-Pornography Law was passed on Nov. 26, 2008, so Ariel could escape the charges if the videos were made before that. "The law doesn't apply retroactively," Edi explained.

Police also refer to Article 282 of the Criminal Code, which focuses on the illicit distribution of pornographic materials. So, once again they have to prove that Ariel was indeed the person who spread the videos.

The police's handling of this case has only served to create ambiguity and confusion as to how far the state can go in interfering in people's bedroom activities.

Adrianus Meliala, a criminologist from the University of Indonesia, has suggested that the police launched their probe simply because "the case is so big and so widely covered by the media that they cannot afford to miss it."

And it is not the first time the country has been rocked by a major sex scandal.

Yahya Zaini, a former Golkar Party lawmaker, was dismissed from the House of Representatives after footage of him naked with a popular dangdut singer emerged on the Internet in 2006. Despite the humiliation suffered by Yahya and his family, he was never charged with any crime.

Meanwhile, an indistinct voice recording of an alleged sexual relationship between former antigraft czar Antasari Azhar and a female golf caddie served as a key piece of evidence by prosecutors in a murder case against him.

Not only did Antasari lose his prestigious position at the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK), he was also eventually convicted for the crime that, according to the verdict, was motivated by the love affair.