More female teenagers arrested in night raid

JAKARTA (JP): South Jakarta Police arrested 41 more female teenagers for midnight loitering on Monday after 14 others were arrested in Kalibata Mall on Saturday for a similar offense.

South Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. Sisno Adhi said the raids were part of a police operation code named Kilat Jaya, which targets streetwalkers.

The teenagers were netted at midnight on Jl. Melawai, Jl. Panglima Polim and Jl. Setabudhi and other streets.

They were immediately taken to the South Jakarta police precinct. Some of them were released into the custody of their parents who signed statements saying that they would look after their children better, he said.

Those categorized as professional ladies of the night will be sent to the social service office, he added.

According to Sisno, many of the teenagers willingly go on a date with any man.

"I once asked one of them why she made a date with a man she had never met before. She said they just liked each other," Sisno said.

Some of them said they had to become prostitutes for economic reasons, he added.

The police conducted a similar crackdown at Kalibata Mall in South Jakarta on Saturday night.

Some 14 teenagers, not 28 as reported before, were netted, including an 19-year-old school graduate who acted as a pimp for the teenagers.

Warlis, the head of the public order office of the Pancoran district told The Jakarta Post yesterday that the 14 teenagers were released after their parents made statements.

He said the police frequently receive complaints from women visiting the mall who are often harassed by men asking for a date.

City police spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna said such raids were meant to shock the teenagers into mending their ways. (jun)