Police nab pimp for selling 10 girls

P.C. Naommy, Jakarta

The National Police arrested a pimp and three of her customers on allegations she had sold and abused underage children as prostitutes.

Director of the transnational crimes division Brig. Gen. Ariyanto Sutadi said on Saturday that the suspected pimp, Arum, had preyed on 10 girls aged 13 to 14, who are junior high school students in South Jakarta. The suspect sold the girls' virginity to the customers for Rp 300,000 (US$32) to Rp 1 million per person.

Six of the 10 students were expelled from their schools, ostensibly for the sake of protecting the image of the schools, after telling their counseling teachers about the incidents.

Arum, who was arrested on Tuesday, told investigators that she used money and new clothes as the bait to exploit the girls, whose parents work as bajaj (motorized pedicab) or ojek (motorcycle taxi) drivers.

Three other suspects -- identified as Iwan, a businessman; Dedy, a former official of the West Java State Logistics Agency (Bulog) and another who is still unidentified -- were arrested on Wednesday.

Arum will be charged under Article 297 of the Criminal Code on trafficking boys or girls below 15 years old. The article carries a maximum sentence of six years' imprisonment. The police might use Law No. 23/2002 on child protection to level more serious charges against her.

The three suspects will be charged under Article 287 of the Criminal Code on having sex with children under 15 years old and could face a maximum nine years' imprisonment.

Police set a trap for the three customers with help from Arum, who had been arrested a day earlier thanks to a tip-off from the public.

Arum had promised the three that she would bring new prostitutes to a designated place in Tebet, South Jakarta. When the deal was done, police caught them red-handed with the girls as they attempted to leave the scene.

All the suspects are in detention at the National Police Criminal and Investigation Bureau.