Promised To Work In A Boutique, 17-year-old Girl Was Even Taken To A Localization Center, Selling For IDR 1.5 Million

Two suspects in child trafficking to become prostitutes in Pekanbaru/ Photo: IST

CILEGON – The Cilegon Police, Banten, arrested two people suspected of trafficking in children to become commercial sex workers (PSK) in Pekanbaru. The two suspects with the initials NM and HF were proven to have sold a 17-year-old girl, a resident of Cengkil, with the lure of working in a boutique.

The Cilegon Police Chief, AKBP Sigit Haryono, said that the disclosure of this case began with a report from the victim's mother who felt that her child had been kidnapped.

Sigit explained that previously the perpetrator had met the victim on social media. At that time the victim was offered a job at a boutique in Serang by the perpetrator. Because the victim was interested, there was a meeting between the victim and the perpetrator at the victim's house in Cilangkil, Cilegon, Banten, on Tuesday, February 15. During the meeting, the victim's mother did not agree if her son accepted the job offer.

The next day, Wednesday 16 February, the victim's mother was shocked to hear from her son that she was already in Pekanbaru by car. At that time, the victim's mother reported to the Cilegon Police. The report was received and an investigation was carried out.

After arriving in Pekanbaru, members of the Cilegon Resort Police learned that the victim was already in the Beringin area, one of the localization sites.

"The victim was initially offered to work in a boutique in Serang, then the two perpetrators were brought to Pekanbaru to be employed at the localization in Beringin, Pekanbaru," explained Cilegon Police Chief AKBP Sigit Haryono, at the Cilegon Police, Tuesday, March 8.

Officers immediately arrested NM and HF at different locations. HF was arrested around the South Ring Road and NM at Merak Harbor, while trying to cross to Bakauheni.

During the investigation, the two perpetrators admitted that they had sold the victim for Rp. 1,500,000.

Sigit said that the two suspects were charged with multiple layers of articles, namely Article 2 Paragraph 1 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning the Crime of Trafficking in Persons and Article 83 of Law Number 17 of 2016 concerning Child Protection and threatened with imprisonment for a maximum of 15 years.

Two perpetrators were charged with different articles, the perpetrator who sold was charged with Article 2 paragraph (1) of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 21 of 2007 and those who escorted the victim were charged with Article 10 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 21 of 2007 and Article 83 of the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 17 of 2016 concerning the sale of children.