Three Malaysians, two locals arrested in trafficking cases

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.