Court indicts notorious pimp, his lackeys
JAKARTA (JP): Hartono Setyawan, one of the most notorious pimps of high-class call girls in Indonesia, and three of his lackeys were indicted at South Jakarta District Court yesterday.
"Hartono intentionally ran an illicit prostitution business from 1989 to July 1994," said prosecutor Rotua Marpaung.
The prosecutor said that Hartono provided his girls with a house on Jl. Prapanca 4, South Jakarta and arranged that 50 percent of their income should be given to him.
Prosecutor Rotua said that the brothels offer call girls at rates ranging between Rp 750,000 and Rp 1.5 million (US$348 - 698) for short-term service (three hours) and twice as much for 12 hours.
Reportedly, in an attempt to lure more clients Hartono also accepted major credit cards as payment for his girls' services.
Rotua said that Hartono has violated Articles 296 and 506 of the Criminal Code, which forbid sexual procurement.
According to Article 296, a person faces 16 months imprisonment if found guilty.
Hartono, who appeared in the crowded court room without his lawyers, looked pale and kept his head held low during the session.
The 42-year-old, noted as an 'untouchable pimp', was picked up by police at his mansion in the elite Pondok Indah housing complex in South Jakarta on July 27.
Police said that Hartono was arrested following the arrest of six occupants of a high-class brothel on Jl. Prapanca, South Jakarta, three days earlier.
The six consisted of three prostitutes, Kho Ghay Goen, an assistant pimp, Hamzah, a receptionist and Ari Dewanto, a driver of a minivan used to transport call girls from Jl. Prapanca to the customer's address.
Two of the three call girls, Nova Novianti, 20, and Natalia Risani, 24, were caught by police while offering their services to guests at the Century Park Hotel. Sriyanti, 31, was nabbed at the Jakarta Hilton, both in Central Jakarta.
In a separate session, prosecutor Eko Siwi Iriyanti said in her indictment that Kho, known as Gunawan, 39, violated Article 296 and 56 of the Criminal Code by intentionally helping run a sex business.
`Backers'
Prosecutor Esther Datu Rante said that Ari and Hamzah violated the same articles.
Presiding Judge Stephanus Sutrisno adjourned Hartono's trial until Oct. 26. The trial for the other two defendants was adjourned until Oct. 19.
Many people believed that Hartono, an Indonesian of Chinese descent, had recruited a handful of "backers" to protect the illegal businesses he established in the heady 1970s.
City Police Chief Maj. Gen. Mochammad Hindarto said last August that police were attempting to locate Hartono's backers and would send them to court if there is sufficient evidence regarding their involvement in Hartono's dirty business.
Hartono was sentenced to eight months in jail back in 1986 at South Jakarta District Court.
When he appealed to the Jakarta High Court, the judges lightened the sentence to two years probation.
Instead of stopping his sex business, he later expanded it by opening brothels in Surabaya, Bandung, Denpasar, and Semarang, which were reportedly closed down by police shortly after his arrest. (mas)