Sex workers still on Batam streets

Sex workers still on Batam streets

BATAM, Riau: A day prior to the beginning of the Ramadhan
fasting month, sex workers were still visible in the streets of
Batam Island freely going from one hotel to another.

According to Antara's monitoring, sex workers were also seen
at star-rated hotels and shopping centers in Nagoya. Many others
were serving their Singaporean guests in several tourist resorts
in Nongsa and Batu Ampar.

Some 5,000 young women from cities in Sumatra, North Sulawesi
and West Java are working as sex workers on the island. 65 of
them have contracted AIDS and hundreds of others are believed to
have been infected by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).

Nyat Kadir, deputy chairman of the Batam provincial
legislative council, said local authorities would be faced with
the decision of whether to enforce the closure of thousands of
night spots and entertainment centers on the island during the
fasting month because of the large number of sex workers.

"Local authorities will be facing a dilemma because it will
unlikely expel the sex workers and workers employed in hotels,
restaurants, massage parlors, nightclubs and entertainment
centers," he said. --Antara