Fourty-two prostitutes netted

JAKARTA: As many as 42 prostitutes working in Central Jakarta and North Jakarta were rounded up early on Friday morning in a joint operation by the City Public Agency, the Social Agency, the Jakarta Police and the military garrison.

The prostitutes, who are accused of violating City Bylaw No. 11/1988 on public order, were sent to the Kedoya rehabilitation shelter in West Jakarta.

The arrests, carried out by 50 officers, were part of a routine operation, which is usually conducted twice a month by the agency, coordinator Saad Saleh said.

He said that the operation was aimed at reducing the number of prostitutes working the streets here, beritajakarta.com reported.

The officers arrested the prostitutes while they were waiting for customers on the streets or in roadside bars. --JP