An Indonesian official was sacked Monday weeks after she drew scorn for suggesting women could get pregnant by swimming in a pool where a man with "strong sperm" had ejaculated. President Joko Widodo signed off on an order to "dishonourably" remove Sitti Hikmawatty as a child protection commission member for her unscientific comments, which drew controversy and online ridicule. In a February interview about teen pregnancy, the former university professor insisted that if a man ejaculates in a public pool, it could lead to conception. "A pregnancy can happen even though there is no sexual penetration," she said at the time. While Hikmawatty quickly retracted her remarks, a government commission charged with probing the case recommended last week that she be fired. Hikmawatty tried in vain to postpone her sacking Monday by invoking the COVID-19 pandemic. "Mr President, there's a common enemy we must face together," she wrote to Widodo asking that her removal be put off. "Allow me to finish my child protection efforts during the pandemic." bur-pb/fox