'Sold' W. Java women reunited with families

BANDUNG (JP): The West Java police headquarters was full of crying women on Monday, who arrived from Tanjung Balai Karimun in Riau, Sumatra. The 113 young women, many of them teenagers, were part of an unidentified number of youngsters who had sought work in the tourist destination only to be ensnared by prostitution.

Relatives came to the headquarters inquiring after missing family members and showing photographs. Some parents were overjoyed to find their daughters while others went home empty- handed.

"Have you seen my daughter?" said a woman, Imas. Some of the newly arrived women shook their heads but one said, "That's Linda who works in the restaurant, isn't it? But she's got long hair now."

Imas was still confused, saying her daughter's name was not Linda and that she had left home six months ago to work in a restaurant in Batam "for a big wage."

The transportation of the women was the latest development in police efforts, beginning early this month to expose a syndicate selling women to work as prostitutes in discotheques and other entertainment venues in Riau.

West Java Detective Police Chief Col. Makbul Padmanegara said police have arrested eight suspects including a member of the Armed Forces.

The investigation began after 13 teenagers who managed to escape from Riau returned to Bandung and reported the racket to the police.

They said they had been swindled by people who had promised them jobs. The women who arrived on Monday were mainly from West Java while others were from Jakarta, and Central and Eastern Java.

An 18-year-old who had just arrived, Ipung, said that she had met a man called Ali in a Bandung discotheque, who offered her a job as a waitress in Batam with a monthly wage of Rp 3 million, excluding tips.

She instantly agreed. "I was picked up the following morning and brought to Jakarta. In the afternoon we left by plane to Tanjung Balai Karimun."

There she said she was placed in a boarding home and did not receive a monthly wage as promised. "We had to pay for everything at the dormitory, including plain water, or we were considered to have debts."

Ipung said she was beaten for refusing to sleep with a guest. The others said waitresses were paid Rp 100,000 for two hours per guest, according to the bills, but only received Rp 20,000 of the payment.

While parents were overjoyed, the young women looked hesitant, not knowing what they would do. "We might stay in Bandung first. We were told the social welfare agency would take us in for the time being," said Ani, 17, of Central Java.

The women were to undergo police questioning and medical check-ups before their families could take them home. (43)