Punishments are doled out in different ways throughout the world. This most certainly is true when it comes to theft. In some parts of the world they even cut off fingers and hands for shoplifting.

What do you think of this story out of Indonesia?

The people of Indonesia may not be up in arms, but they certainly are protesting the way the theft punishment was doled out here.

More flimsy, worn-out sandals piled up around Indonesia as part of a protest campaign against the trial of a 15-year-old boy a police officer has taken to court, accusing him of stealing his old footwear.

Dozens of students and activists gathering outside the courtroom in Palu, Central Sulawesi, to call for the release of the suspect.

Meanwhile, according to the New York Times, protesters continued dropping off their used flip-flops at the offices of the National Commission for Child Protection, a public agency that organized the collection, as well as at police stations and prosecutors’ offices.

The sandal campaign has grabbed headlines and become a favorite topic on social networking sites since it began Dec. 29. Organizers said the initial aim was to collect 1,000 pairs of sandals in mock protest of the officer who made the allegations, but by Wednesday (Jan 4) more than 1,200 pairs of shoes had been collected.

The plan is to deliver the sandals to the officer, adding that if the officer felt wronged by having his shoes taken, the public would provide him with more in return.

Does Crime Fit Punishment?

The boy is accused of taking the officer’s shoes from outside a police boarding house in Palu as he walked home from school with friends in November 2010. Six months later, Sgt. Ahmad Rusdi Harahap accused the boy of theft, and the boy was interrogated and badly beaten. He said the boy’s parents filed a complaint after discovering bruises on the boy’s body.

If the boy is found guilty in the stolen sandal case, he could face up to five years in prison — a greater sentence than that meted out in the past to convicted terrorists and major corruption convicts.

Does the punishment fit the crime? A beating and five years in jail for stolen flip flops?