Three Malaysians, two locals arrested in trafficking cases

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam, Riau

After one month of reconnaissance, police here said on Monday they had finally arrested five members of two gangs, including three Malaysians, suspected of women trafficking in Tanjung Pinang, Riau Islands regency.

"We have nabbed them based on information from witnesses in Tanjung Pinang, who know of their activities," local police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widodo Eko Prihastopo told The Jakarta Post.

He said the five suspects were arrested on Saturday and Sunday on similar charges in different cases.

Eko said the police had monitored Chai Shong Hin, 31, and Tang Meng Yeew, 22, two of the Malaysian suspects, for more than a month.

The two were then caught around midnight on Saturday at Paradise Hotel, Tanjung Pinang, along with two local women who were to be trafficked for 3,500 ringgit each to serve as prostitutes in Malaysia, he added.

Eko said the Malaysian suspects claimed that it was their first time to operate in Tanjung Pinang. However, the hotel management said the two Malaysian citizens were regular customers.

Their passports also showed that they had visited Tanjung Pinang several times, Eko added.

The two women told police investigators that they were to be employed as prostitutes at a karaoke center in Kuala Lumpur.

Eko said his personnel also arrested another Malaysian citizen Chay Fook Chong, 30, at the Sri Bintan Pura seaport on Sunday on charges of women trafficking.

Chay worked along with local citizens Zoni, 30, and Septiani Dwi Riyanti alias Ria, 29, who both had been arrested earlier last week, Eko added.

He said the two Indonesian suspects admitted they worked with Chay for a long time in trafficking women to Malaysia.

Zoni, Dwi and Chay were nabbed following a tipoff from victim Mariana, who was offered 1,500 ringgit to serve as a prostitute in the neighboring country, Eko added.

"The two gangs -- one led by Chai Shong Hin and the other by Chay Fook Chong -- are not linked. They worked in different networks," he said.

"But the important matter is that they used Tanjung Pinang to find women for trafficking," he added.

Eko said the five suspects are charged under Article 297 of the Criminal Code on women trafficking, which carries a maximum penalty of five years.

"Tanjung Pinang is a strategic place for translational organized crimes, such as drug and women trafficking," he said.

Eko pledged to be consistent in fighting the trafficking in the town.