Promises of restaurant work, Banten couple sell underage girl via MiChat

Serang (ANTARA) – A husband-and-wife duo in Banten have sold an underage girl via the MiChat application to become a sex worker, under the guise of a restaurant job, and were arrested by the Ditreskrimum (Criminal Investigation Directorate) of the Banten Regional Police.

The head of public relations for the Banten Regional Police, Kombes Pol Maruli Ahiles Hutapea, said in Serang on Thursday that the suspects were identified as FA (26) and AB (27). They are believed to have carried out the illegal practice for around one year.

‘The modus operandi of the perpetrators is to recruit young women with promises of work at a restaurant. However, once the victims are under their control, the victims are forced into commercial sex work,’ he said.

Maruli explained that the suspects promoted the victims through the MiChat app with rates ranging from Rp250,000 to Rp300,000. One of the victims, Mawar (17) — not her real name — was forced to service up to five clients in a day with a promised wage of Rp10 million if targets were met.

‘We have coordinated with related agencies to ensure the victims receive protection and adequate trauma recovery services,’ he added.

For their actions, the husband-and-wife duo face multiple charges under Article 2 in conjunction with Article 10 in conjunction with Article 17 of Law No. 21 of 2007 on the Eradication of Trafficking in Persons and Article 455 of the Criminal Code. The two suspects face a minimum prison sentence of three years and a maximum of 15 years.

The Banten Police urged the public to stay vigilant against suspicious job offers and to report to the police any human trafficking or other exploitation practices in their surroundings.