Police seek Singaporean mastermind
Haidir Anwar Tanjung, The Jakarta Post, Pekanbaru, Riau
Riau Police said on Wednesday that they are searching for a Singaporean and his Indonesian accomplice suspected of trafficking women to work as prostitutes in Malaysia.
Riau Police arrested five members of two gangs in Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands province, over the weekend, including three Malaysians and two Indonesians, after a month-long surveillance operation.
Riau Police chief Brig. Gen. Deddy Sutardi Komaruddin said they believed the Singaporean, identified only as James, was the brains of the operation. His Indonesian accomplice was identified as Aan.
The five arrested suspects, including Malaysians Chai Shong Hin, 31, Tang Meng Yeew, 22, and Chay Fook Chong, 30, were being detained at Riau Police headquarters for further questioning, Deddy said.
"We also have 10 victims who were to be sent to Malaysia and we are holding them as witnesses in the two separate trafficking cases," he said.
The victims were named as Maryati, 18, from Kerawang, West Java, Fitri, 23, and Dita, 24, from Jember, East Java, Mira, 29, from Semarang, Central Java, and Mariani, 23, from Jakarta.
"We also received information from National Police Headquarters that seven more victims in the trafficking cases have been secured by the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur," Deddy said.
Tanjung Pinang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widodo Eko Prihastopo had said Chai Shong and Tang Meng were arrested on Saturday at Paradise Hotel along with two local women who were to be trafficked for 3,500 ringgit each to serve as prostitutes in Malaysia.
The Malaysian suspects claimed that it was their first time operating in Tanjung Pinang, Eko said on Monday. However, the hotel management said the two Malaysian citizens were frequent customers.
Their passports also showed they had visited Tanjung Pinang several times, Eko added.
The two women told police that they were to be employed as prostitutes at a karaoke center in Kuala Lumpur.
Eko said Chay Fook, the third Malaysian suspect, was caught at the Sri Bintan Pura seaport on Sunday. Chay worked along with local citizens Zoni, 30, and Septiani Dwi Riyanti, alias Ria, 29, who had both been arrested earlier last week.
Deddy said police would charge all the suspects under Article 297, 378 and 506 of the Criminal Code on human trafficking, which carries a minimum penalty of six years in prison.
He said Riau Police had cooperated with their Malaysian counterparts and Interpol to fight practices of human trafficking in the region.
The Malaysian consul for Riau, Abdul Samad Othman, visited the Malaysian detainees on Wednesday.
He said the Malaysian government was ready to provide lawyers for the suspects if their families, now in Tanjung Pinang, could not afford to do so.