927 female job seekers locked up and cheated<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): A man has been arrested for allegedly
\nincarcerating 927 women he promised employment overseas after
\neach of them paid him up to Rp 1 million ($125), police said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
City Police spokesman Lt. Col. E. Aritonang said the suspect,
\nJimmy Chandra, 46, was arrested in a raid Wednesday on the home
\nhe used to keep the job seekers locked up in on Jl. Taman AA in
\nSukabumi Selatan subdistrict, West Jakarta.<\/p>\n
Four of Jimmy's accomplices were also arrested and detained.<\/p>\n
The women, recruited from various regions in Java, were
\npromised jobs in several Middle East and Asian countries, such as
\nAbu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, Aritonang said.<\/p>\n
They said they had been put up in the 500-square-meter house
\nfor between three and four months without knowing when they would
\nbe sent abroad.<\/p>\n
\"They were not given training, passports or medical services
\nas promised. They were charged between Rp 500,000 and Rp 1
\nmillion,\" Aritonang explained.<\/p>\n
People wanting to take their relatives from the house were
\nrequired to pay Rp 1 million in compensation for the worker's
\nliving costs and legal documents.<\/p>\n
The police found about 400 women when they raided the house at
\nabout 3 p.m.<\/p>\n
\"As soon as the police entered the house, the workers screamed
\nhysterically in relief and ran for their freedom,\" he said,
\nadding that the house was crowded and the women were in poor
\nhealth.<\/p>\n
The women were locked inside the house and not allowed to go
\nout for any reason.<\/p>\n
They reported their daily meal consisted of rice, salted fish
\nand cooked cassava leaves.<\/p>\n
The \"prison\" was uncovered following reports from people
\ninquiring about the whereabouts of their relatives after they
\nwere taken to an employment agency.<\/p>\n
Jimmy admitted to the police to having used the name of
\nanother employment company, PT Wardilesar Jaya Corporation (PT
\nWJC), to cover up his activities.<\/p>\n
The owner of PT WJC, Said Salim, is currently under
\ninvestigation but \"so far the police have not found any
\nindication that Said collaborated with the suspect,\" Aritonang
\nadded.<\/p>\n
Jimmy had recruited 927 women since starting his illegal
\nbusiness about six months ago,<\/p>\n
Some job seekers were dispatched to Singapore not long after
\nthey were accommodated in the house because they could fulfill
\nall the requirements on time, he said.<\/p>\n
The women came from Cirebon, Bandung, Garut, Sukabumi and
\nCianjur in West Java; Salatiga in Central Java; Blitar and
\nSurabaya in East Java and Medan in North Sumatra.<\/p>\n
Some of those freed yesterday told The Jakarta Post that they
\nwere promised jobs abroad but eventually, after reaching Jakarta,
\nwere offered work as maids or laborers.<\/p>\n
Umi Solika, a 17-year-old from Blitar, East Java, said that
\nshe paid Rp 500,000 to Jimmy's agency for a medical test.<\/p>\n
\"But I've never been given any tests. I don't have any money
\nleft ... I was promised a job in Saudi Arabia and that's why I
\ncame all the way from Blitar,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Yani, 15, said that Jimmy promised her parents to send her to
\nSaudi Arabia. But after waiting for about three months, Jimmy
\nsaid that there were no jobs there.<\/p>\n
\"He then offered me a job as a maid in Abu Dhabi,\" the girl
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
She said the women were treated unfairly; for example only
\nbeautiful ones were sent abroad.<\/p>\n
\"Everyday they fed us with salty fish and cassava leaves. We
\nhave to stand in line for hours for the meal and there was only
\none bathroom for hundreds of us,\" she added.<\/p>\n
\"Every night we had to take turns sleeping. The space for
\nsleeping was so crowded we had to breathe into each others'
\nfaces. The agency's employees stole our laundry many times,\" Umi
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Jimmy told reporters yesterday that he had treated the women
\n\"properly\".<\/p>\n
\"It is normal if they have to wait a while because, as you
\nknow, it is not easy to get the proper documents to go and work
\nabroad,\" he said. (edt)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/927-female-job-seekers-locked-up-and-cheated-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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