Human trading cases rampant but no one charged with trafficking
Human trading cases rampant but no one charged with trafficking
Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The trafficking of people is not a new phenomena. The business
has thrived for many centuries and still occurs in modern times
in many places throughout the world, including Indonesia.
Despite a considerable number of trafficking cases here, very
few have been taken to court. Worse, the defendants are not
charged with trafficking but with obscene conduct or fraud.
Mohammad Sobari, a criminal division officer at the South
Jakarta District Court, said he did not know of any defendant
tried at the court on charges of trafficking.
"Several years ago, there was a victim who filed a complaint
against a company involving trafficking, however, the company
(owner) was charged under an article on fraud," he told The
Jakarta Post.
The case occurred in 1993, when a woman claimed she was
deceived by a manpower company, which sent her to Japan to become
a singer. Instead, the company placed her as a hostess to
accompany guests at a karaoke club in a Japanese town.
After repeatedly complaining to the club management, she
finally managed to return home.
The company director was then charged under Article 378 of the
Criminal Code on fraud, which carried a maximum penalty of four
years in jail. The defendant was sentenced to eight months in
jail and ordered to pay about Rp 100 million to the victim.
The woman, who happened to hold a non-degree diploma, was not
the only victim, but she was the only one who reported the case
to police as the others were probably ignorant of the law.
Lawyer Apong Herlina from Women and Children Advocacy
Institute said that the country has an article on human
trafficking, however it fails to state the definition of the
crime.
She refers to Article 297 of the Criminal Law, which states
that anyone involved in the trading of women and underage boys is
subject to a maximum of six years imprisonment.
Not only does the article carry a light penalty, it has never
been implemented here, Apong said.
She said the defendant might be charged with prostitution or,
more specifically, Article 281 of the Criminal Code on "unethical
conduct", which carries a maximum penalty of two years and eight
months in jail, or a Rp 4,500 fine.
Dian Kartika from the Indonesian Women's Coalition said she
had handled some trafficking cases in which the victims were
tried for disturbing public order by working as prostitutes,
while the pimps were not touched by the law.
"The government should soon draft a new law on trafficking
that can bring the criminals before the courts," Dian asserted.
A United Nations report this year ranked Indonesia as the
third worst country in the world for its poor commitment and
regulations on human trafficking, especially of women and
children.
In response to the report, Coordinating Minister for People's
Welfare Jusuf Kalla decided last month to establish an
interdepartmental team to undertake the task.
"Such a team won't do much in curbing the problem," said Dian,
expressing her skepticism. "To combat trafficking, the
government's goodwill is needed."
Actually, the government last year signed a United Nations
covenant on trafficking but it has still not ratified the
regulations.
In September, Minister of Home Affairs Hari Sabarno issued a
circular ordering governors, regents and mayors across the
country to deal with the crimes following rampant trafficking
uncovered by the police.
However, Dian doubted that the minister's subordinates would
seriously observe the order.