Three accused of forcing RI women into prostitution

Three accused of forcing RI women into prostitution

Agencies, New York

Three men have been charged with forcing Indonesian women into
prostitution in New York and Connecticut and threatening to hurt
them if they did not cooperate.

Charges of involuntary servitude, forced labor and sex
trafficking by force, fraud or coercion were brought in an
indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan.

Prosecutors said Chai Hock Ng, 43, and Kian Chai Ong, 44, both
of Manhattan's Chinatown, and Sadiman Tio, 32, of Brooklyn, were
charged with conspiring to hold three young Indonesian women
against their will and forcing them to work as prostitutes in
Brooklyn and Connecticut.

Roger Stavis, a lawyer for Tio, declined to comment. Messages
left on the answering machine of the lawyers representing the
other two men were not returned.

In Jakarta, foreign ministry spokesman Marty Natalegawa said
that his office had not been informed about the case, but ensures
the protection of Indonesian citizens is also a priority.

"I have to ask our office in New York, but I am sure as far as
legal process goes, our government is concerned that these kind
of illegal activities could develop. We will ensure the
protection of the three women," Marty told The Jakarta Post on
Friday.

The indictment states that the women were induced to the U.S.
from Indonesia to work at New York City restaurants.

On arrival, the women were taken to brothels in Connecticut
and Brooklyn, where they were forced into the sex business, the
indictment alleged.

The women protested when they were told they each owed
US$30,000 to one of the accused for arranging their trip to the
U.S. and that they would have to repay it by working through
prostitution, prosecutors said.

The indictment said the women were forced to remain at locked
and guarded brothels and were threatened with physical harm if
they did not obey.

The lawsuit alleges that the women were to be sold to brothels
in Massachusetts and New York, but the plan was ruined when two
of them escaped.

Prosecutors said the women climbed through a small window at a
brothel in Brooklyn. They then phoned Tio, whose number had been
given to them if they needed assistance.

The indictment alleged that Tio instead tried to return the
women to the brothel, but one of the women escaped and called the
police who then raided the brothel.

If convicted, the men could each face charges of 20 years or
more in prison.