Mother in Riau Exploits Children as 'Silver Man' Street Beggars
A mother in Pelalawan Regency, Riau, has been arrested for exploiting her underage children by forcing them to become ‘manusia silver’ street performers. Driven by economic motives, the children were compelled to beg on the streets to earn money.
The case came to light after police received a tip-off from the public. On Friday afternoon, 12 June 2026, authorities were informed that three children were begging at a traffic light on Jalan Lintas Timur in Pangkalan Kerinci, Pelalawan Regency.
One of the children was found crying and being dragged by another child of similar age, who was forcing her to go home. It was later discovered that the child was reluctant to return home for fear of being tortured by her mother due to insufficient begging proceeds.
Police subsequently detained the victims’ mother and named her as a suspect.
The case unfolded when police received information from residents about three ‘manusia silver’ busking children causing a commotion at the Pangkalan Kerinci junction on Friday afternoon. Locals became suspicious after seeing one child being dragged and crying.
Officers from the Pangkalan Kerinci Police moved to the location and secured the three children, taking them to the police station. The three children consisted of two boys, identified by the initials MH (11) and RA (9), and one girl, PW (9).
“That evening we received a report from the public that three children begging as ‘manusia silver’ were causing a disturbance in front of Ramayana,” said Pangkalan Kerinci Police Chief AKP Shilton in a statement on Friday (12/6).
During questioning at the police station, the children admitted they were afraid to go home. They revealed that they feared returning if their takings were insufficient because their mother would torture them.
“They were arguing because one of the children, PW, admitted she was scared to go home because if she did not bring back Rp 500,000, she would be beaten by the reported individual, SM,” he explained.
Police then brought both parents of the victims to the Pangkalan Kerinci Police station for further investigation. The investigation revealed that two of the children, MH (11) and RA (9), are the biological children of the perpetrator, while PW is her grandchild.
The Criminal Investigation Unit of the Pelalawan Police named a woman with the initials SM (31) as a suspect in the alleged child exploitation case in Pangkalan Kerinci. The suspect SM had turned the three children into ‘manusia silver’ beggars.
“The suspect has been charged under Article 88 of Law No. 35 of 2014 concerning Amendments to Law No. 23 of 2002 on Child Protection, as amended by Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1 of 2016. The penalty includes imprisonment and a fine,” said AKP Shilton on Wednesday (17/6).
Shilton stated that the victims were forced to beg and busk as ‘manusia silver’ at traffic lights. The victims were frequently subjected to abuse if their takings did not meet the target.