Housemaid recruitment agencies to be raided<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The police are planning to raid housemaid
\nrecruitment agencies that are believed to be used as a cover for
\nthe trafficking of women, especially underage girls, for
\nprostitution.<\/p>\n
The decision was made on Thursday following a crackdown on an
\nagency in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta, and Cempaka Bar in
\nPejagalan, North Jakarta, on the previous day. Three people were
\narrested for allegedly being involved in the crime, while 17
\nwomen who had become victims of the illicit business were freed
\nby the police.<\/p>\n
North Jakarta Police chief Sr. Comr. Andi Chaeruddin said
\nthat police had received reports about several housemaid
\nrecruitment agencies believed to have frequently supplied girls
\nto middlemen, who would later sell them to nightspots or massage
\nparlors.<\/p>\n
\"I suspect the business is run by a syndicate that operates
\nwidely in the capital,\" Andi told The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
Police from the Penjaringan subprecinct arrested on Tuesday
\nthree people for their alleged part in the trafficking. They were
\nidentified as Iskandar, 46, owner of Cempaka Bar, Dju Dju
\nArdasih, 45, owner of Yayasan Karya Setiawan, the housemaid
\nrecruitment agency, and Hartadi, 35, a staff member at the
\nagency.<\/p>\n
Andi said the three were still being intensively questioned by
\nPenjaringan police to find out if they were working with other
\ngroups.<\/p>\n
The three are being questioned for allegedly violating Article
\n296 of the Criminal Code on indecent conduct, and Article 297 on
\ntrading in under-age boys and girls, according to Andi.<\/p>\n
Article 296 carries a maximum sentence of a one-year-and-four-
\nmonth jail term or a Rp 15,000 fine, while anyone guilty of
\nviolating Article 297 could be sentenced to six years in jail at
\nthe most.<\/p>\n
Police made the arrest after receiving a report from 17-year-
\nold Laila. She said she had been deceived by Iskandar, who
\noffered her a job as a housemaid with a high salary, about three
\nmonths ago.<\/p>\n
However, the girl who hailed from Ciledug, Banten, said she,
\nalong with several others, was forced to work as a prostitute in
\nCempaka Bar, which was owned by Iskandar.<\/p>\n
Mostly aged under 17, the girls told the police that they did
\nnot receive any salary from the bar's management. They received
\nonly tips given by their guests, who were charged around Rp
\n50,000 per night for the girls' services.<\/p>\n
The girls came from various places like Pekalongan, Central
\nJava, Jember, East Java and Lampung. They were mostly \"trapped\"
\nas soon as they arrived in Jakarta at bus terminals, where people
\noffered them a job as a domestic helper with a high salary.<\/p>\n
Andi agreed that trafficking in women, which was rampant here,
\nwas a familiar problem.<\/p>\n
\"This is definitely not a new crime. We know about the
\npractice but the problem is such that the crime is hard to detect
\nas the victims are reluctant to report their unlucky fate,\" he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Last week, police reportedly raided a house in Lemahabang,
\nBekasi, where five women had been held before being employed as
\nprostitutes. Two other women were arrested for their alleged part
\nin the crime.<\/p>\n
Police suspected that the victims, who were promised jobs as
\nfactory workers or housemaids, would be sent to nightspots in
\nBatam.(emf)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/housemaid-recruitment-agencies-to-be-raided-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}