Trying To Sell His Friend To A Truck Driver, A Young Man In Garut Is Threatened With 9 Years In Prison

Garut police arrest a young man who sold his friend (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - The Garut Resort Police is processing the case of a young man suspected of committing the crime of selling his 19-year-old female friend to a truck driver in Garut Regency, West Java. Luckily, the victim managed to escape and save herself.

"This case is because there are complaints from victims and reports of indications of women trafficking, we carry out an investigation and determine the suspect," said Head of the Garut Police Criminal Investigation Unit, Commissioner Adjutant Dede Sopandi in Garut, Friday.

He said that the suspect with the initials IR (29), a resident of Bayongbong, Garut, was reported by the victim with the initials NA (19) due to an act of experimenting with prostitution by selling the victim to a truck driver in Garut.

The victim and suspect, said Dede, started with introductions on social media, the victim asked for help in finding a job, then the suspect promised to give her a job until finally holding a meeting in the Garut City area in mid-April 2022.

"They met, but instead of being given a job like what they discussed on social media, the perpetrator sold the victim to a truck driver for IDR 300,000," he said.

The suspect's mode of giving the victim a job turned out to be a lie, the suspect took her to the Cipanas Garut area for the purpose of selling her to someone who is known to work as a truck driver.

The suspect also sexually harassed the victim by holding body parts, the victim at that time did not accept his actions and fled.

"This victim was brought by the suspect, but the victim was not sold because she managed to escape," said Dede.

He stated that this was the first time the suspect had committed such an act, but the police would continue to investigate for fear that there would be other victims.

As a result of his actions, said Dede, the suspect was arrested and detained for further legal proceedings, and was charged with Article 289 of the Criminal Code in conjunction with 290 paragraph 1 with a threat of nine years in prison.

"We have arrested the suspect, the truck driver is still being chased," he said.