Prostitution rife in Riau

PEKANBARU, Riau: Labor brokers promising well-paid jobs in Malaysia have allegedly forced hundreds of women from Java and Lampung into prostitution here, a press report said yesterday.

Last week, six of the dozens of the female job seekers who ended up in brothels managed to escaped and told their plight to the police, Antara reported.

The six, who were returned to their home villages in Java and Lampung by the labor broker that recruited them, said they were a handful of 40 job seekers "accommodated" in a Pekanbaru suburb.

"The brokers sent us to the place and the promised well-paid jobs in Malaysia was never mentioned again," said one of the escapees, Nurhayati.

Antara reported it was commonplace for manpower suppliers to send them to work as prostitutes in amusement centers in Batam and Tanjungbalai Karimun.

Local military chief Col. Songko Purnomo said that he knew of corrupt government officials who endorsed the practices.

Some village chiefs provide the newcomers with identity cards so they can work in their area legally, he said. (pan)