Police rescue 13 women in North Sumatra<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Post, Medan\/Bandung\/Kupang<\/p>\n
Police officers in Medan, North Sumatra, claimed on Wednesday
\nthat they had rescued 13 women seeking work in Malaysia, who had
\nbeen locked up by labor recruitment agency PT Bagus Bersaudara
\nfor two weeks at its office on Jl. Danau Limboto.<\/p>\n
The women from East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) province were freed
\nafter their families, who had not heard from them for two weeks,
\ncontacted the police.<\/p>\n
The incident happened only days after the case of Nirmala
\nBonat, an Indonesian maid from NTT abused by her Malaysian
\nemployee, made headlines in the national media.<\/p>\n
Chief of Medan Police detectives Adj. Comr. Maruli Siahaan
\nsaid that the police had questioned the 13 women, and learned
\nthat there were 25 other women from NTT still locked up at
\nanother location.<\/p>\n
\"Police have deployed a team to track down the women and the
\nmanagement of the labor recruitment agency,\" said Maruli.<\/p>\n
The police personnel broke through a door on Wednesday at the
\ncompany's office to release the 13 women, while no one
\nrepresenting the company was found there.<\/p>\n
Maruli also said that the police were also investigating the
\npossibility that the women were to be sold into prostitution in
\nMalaysia.<\/p>\n
During police questioning, the women recalled that they
\narrived two weeks ago in Medan, after being offered work by Joni,
\na staffer at PT Bagus Bersaudara, who promised them work in
\namusement centers in Malaysia.<\/p>\n
But, they suspected something fishy after they were locked up
\nby the company in its office on Jl. Limboto and prevented from
\nleaving.<\/p>\n
\"We are afraid that in the end, we would be sold as
\nprostitutes in Malaysia,\" said Meri Kila, one of the women.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the 13 women arrived home on Wednesday afternoon
\nafter being questioned by police investigators in Medan.<\/p>\n
They were flown home on a Batavia Air flight and arrived in
\nKupang at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n
Chief of the general crime division at East Nusa Tenggara
\nProvincial Police Adj. Sr. Comr. Wijanarko said police
\ninvestigators here would look into whether they had been
\nrecruited illegally by labor recruitment agency PT Akbar Insan
\nPrima in NTT.<\/p>\n
It would also probe the connection between PT Akbar Insan
\nPrima and PT Bagus Bersaudara in the case.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, chairman of the Association of Labor Recruitment
\nAgency's (APJTKI) East Nusa Tenggara chapter, Abraham Liyanto,
\nsaid that PT Akbar Insan Prima was not registered with the
\nMinistry of Manpower and Transmigration and therefore was
\nillegal.<\/p>\n
Separately, an official with the West Java provincial
\nadministration said on the same day that at least 73 Indonesian
\nmigrant workers from West Java had been stranded at the
\nIndonesian Embassy in Malaysia for several months.<\/p>\n
Thirty-four of the total 73 migrant workers, all of them
\nwomen, are being questioned by Malaysian Police for allegedly
\nworking as sex workers.<\/p>\n
Of the remaining 39 men and women housed by the embassy, some
\ndo not have proper documents, while others are in poor health.<\/p>\n
Sukarto Karnen, the head of West Java provincial
\nadministration's manpower office said that he received the
\ninformation from the Indonesian Embassy in Malaysia, which
\nadmitted that it lacked funds to bring the workers home.<\/p>\n
In a letter sent to the manpower office recently, the
\nIndonesian Embassy in Malaysia sought assistance to bring them
\nhome, said Sukarto.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/police-rescue-13-women-in-north-sumatra-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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