Glodok porn trade booming

Glodok porn trade booming

Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

You can't judge a package by its cover, as is the case with
pornographic video compact discs (VCDs), which display photos of
local artists on the cover, yet disappointingly fail to show them
in the buff inside.

There are VCDs with titles such as Asmaraku (My Love) that
display pop singer Krisdayanti on the cover while Fantasi Nakal
(Naughty Fantasy) shows her sibling Yuni Shara.

They are among hundreds of porn VCDs that can be easily found
around the vicinity of Harco Glodok electronics center in West
Jakarta.

"Hard-core pornographic VCDs with covers showing Indonesian
artists are the most wanted by our buyers," a street vendor,
introducing himself by his family name, Harahap, told The Jakarta
Post on Wednesday.

"Many people are curious as to whether the VCDs really feature
Indonesians or not," he said.

Krisdayanti did not seem bothered about the use of her photos
on the cover, or so her spokesperson Selby made out.

"That issue is so passe. Krisdayanti's fans are smart enough
to know that they are all fake," she said.

The VCDs with Indonesian titles usually feature foreign
actors.

Vendors are offering the VCDs for between Rp 7,000 (70 U.S.
cents) and Rp 11,000 ($1.1), but will accept Rp 6,000 after
bargaining.

Harahap, who had been running his business for almost three
years, said he could sell up to 100 pornographic VCDs a day and
some 40 other VCDs.

But, that was before the latest series of raids carried out
last month against VCD vendors in the area.

The area had been tense for several days after Taman Sari
Police and public order officers demolished VCD vendors' stands
along the road, not because they sold porn, pirated products, but
because they disrupted traffic.

A number of police vans were still seen parked at the side of
the road on Wednesday.

"Business at the (VCD) market is very sluggish at present as
we have fewer visitors and many VCD vendors have suspended their
business activities in fear of further raids. We only sold 15
pornographic VCDs yesterday," Harahap said.

Another VCD seller, Siregar, 25, hurriedly hid a pile of
obscene VCDs on display as a group of military officers passed
by.

Siregar said he was able to display less obscene ones openly
at his stall, but all XXX-rated pornographic VCDs were concealed
in separate packages.

"We cannot display such flicks openly. We only offer them to
those who ask," he said.

According to him, those buying pornographic VCDs come from all
walks of life.

"There are adults, both men and women, but also teenagers," he
said, adding that some were still at elementary school.

A group of high school students interviewed by the Post on Jl.
Salemba Raya admitted that they often watched such pornographic
flicks.

"We watch them at home in groups of five or six when our
parents are not at home," said Tino and his group of schoolmates.

"I borrow such VCDs from rental outlets for Rp 5,000 a disk
per day. Sometimes, I buy them from street vendors at Pasar Senen
(in Central Jakarta) or Jatinegara market (in East Jakarta),"
said Achmad, another student.

Meanwhile, another group of students who met the Post in
Manggarai, Central Jakarta, said that they watched such movies
only about twice a month.

"Sometimes, we watch them more often, sometimes less,"
Reinaldi, one of the students, said.

The police plan to launch an operation targeting students soon
as they are concerned about the increasing amount of crime
committed by teenagers, in addition to their fondness for
pornography.