City police summon infamous, high-class procurer Hartono
JAKARTA (JP): Police said they had summoned the infamous, high-class pimp Hartono for questioning, following the apprehension of six "residents" of the Prapanca brothel, which reportedly belongs to him.
"We have summoned him (Hartono). We expect he will come soon," Lt. Col. Latief Rabar, city police spokesman, told reporters yesterday.
Latief spoke in the company of Lt. Col. Gories Mere, chief of the general crime office of the investigative directorate at the city police headquarters, and Gories' subordinate Capt. Irjan, acting chief of gambling and sexual crime section.
The three officers, however, refused to unveil Hartono's present whereabouts, although they claimed to know where he is.
"What we want is for him to come to us willingly," said Gories.
Hartono has been known in certain circles as the country's greatest pimp for over two decades. He is expected to explain the alleged high-class prostitution he runs in a posh house at Jl. Prapanca No. 4, South Jakarta.
Reportedly, the prostitutes join the brothel under a contract system which is renewed every six months. The prostitutes live in the house during the contract period and must share in exchange their income under a fifty-fifty scheme with the house management, which is reportedly led by Hartono.
The call girls, who reportedly come from various places of the country and abroad, charge their customers between Rp 750,000 and Rp 1.5 million (US$346 to $692) for a short-time service (three hours) and twice as much for night-long service.
The house, simply named by locals as "Prapanca", is a well- known den of ill repute which caters to middle and upper-class customers. Prapanca's clientele is believed to include high- ranking government officials and has never been closed down by the authorities.
Information
Yet, surprisingly, police captured six residents of the house on Sunday afternoon.
Three of the six, identified by their initials as KCG, 39, an alleged acting pimp, HS, 32, receptionist, AD, 29, a driver, were captured at the house; while the rest of them, identified as MS, 31, NR, 24, and NN, 20, were apprehended at two luxury hotels in the city serving their "guests".
Gories said the police were acting on information about a high-class prostitution ring organized in the house.
"Based on the information, we then captured the six," Gories said.
Police also seized a Taft pick-up, which is used by AD to transport the call girls, and a record of money the call girls owed to the house management, as evidence.
Hartono's business, which is based in Jakarta, dated back to the seventies and has thrived with branches on Jl. WR Supratman in Surabaya, on Jl. Setia Budi in Bandung, on Jl. Puputan in Denpasar. He is reportedly about to open another branch in Semarang.
Hartono was once tried in 1986 for his dirty business at the South Jakarta District Court, where he was sentenced to eight months of imprisonment.
When he appealed to the Jakarta High Court, the judges gave him a two-years of probation.
Hartono reportedly promised during the trial not to resume his sex business.
It seems that the city police are trying to nail the seemingly untouchable Hartono and his business this time. The new tack took place after a recent case in Surabaya, where Hartono was examined by local police for allegedly kidnapping an underage high school girl for prostitution.
Hartono, who was later freed on bail, insisted the kidnapping had been committed by his former bodyguard who was acting independently and without his prior knowledge. (jsk)