Embassy powerless over sex workers<\/p>\n
Fadli, The Jakarta Post\/Batam<\/p>\n
Amid rising concern over the increasing number of Indonesian
\nwomen working as sex workers in neighboring Singapore, a
\ngovernment official said not much could be done about it.<\/p>\n
Indonesian ambassador to Singapore, Moch. Slamet Hidayat, told
\nThe Jakarta Post that his office faced problems in preventing the
\nwomen from working on the streets.<\/p>\n
\"It gives us a headache thinking about Indonesian women who
\nwork as prostitutes in Singapore. It's hard for us to control
\nthem or to take action against them,\" Slamet said on the
\nsidelines of a two-day meeting of Indonesia, Malaysia and
\nSingapore's foreign ministers in Batam, which ended on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
He said his office once sent two staff to visit the Geylang
\nred-light district in Singapore to determine the number of
\nIndonesian women working in the area. But the staff came back
\nwithout any clear information as the women were very evasive.<\/p>\n
\"Our staff did find Indonesian women offering themselves along
\nthe streets in Geylang, but when they were interviewed, they said
\nthey were just standing there. We can't take further steps like
\nprohibiting them from working there since it's not within our
\nauthority to do so,\" Slamet said.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that many of the women entered Singapore using
\na regular passport, and were allowed to stay for 14 days, and
\nwhen the period was almost over, they would return to Batam or
\nTanjung Pinang before returning to Singapore again.<\/p>\n
\"To this day we don't know how many Indonesian women are
\nworking as prostitutes in Singapore. It's hard for us to control
\nthem because they come and go in such a short period,\" Slamet
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Batam Police uncovered a syndicate on July 27 that sent
\nIndonesian women from Batam to Singapore to work as sex workers.<\/p>\n
In the operation, the police apprehended a sex worker and a
\nwoman who sent the Indonesian women for a commission of S$200 for
\neach woman to her partner in Singapore. In Singapore, the woman
\nearns S$35 for a brief service and S$300 for a day-long service.<\/p>",
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