West Java Regional Police Determine 3 Suspects In The Case Of TA Artist Prostitution, Contraceptives Become Evidence

The police identified three suspects in the TA artist prostitution case, in Bandung, Friday. (Bagus Rizaldi / Antara)

JAKARTA - The West Java Regional Police's Special Criminal Investigation Directorate has named three suspects suspected of being pimps in the prostitution case of an artist with the initials TA who have been arrested.

As reported by Antara, the Head of West Java Regional Police Public Relations, Police Commissioner Erdi A Chaniago, in Bandung, Friday, said that the three pimping suspects had the initials RJ (44), AH (40), and MR (34). According to him, they have different roles, while TA is now being declared a victim witness.

"We, the Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation, succeeded in uncovering the practice of prostitution that occurred in hotels in Bandung. This started with investigators in the Cyber Sub-Directorate on cyber patrol, now it was found that there was an online prostitution practice," he said.

He explained that RJ and AH were suspected of playing the role of online advertisers for a number of artists for the prostitution business. Meanwhile, MR alias Alona is suspected of playing a role as a person who has a network with a number of artists who will be used for prostitution services to customers.

"The person concerned (MR) has a very extensive network, it can be said that throughout Indonesia," he said.

His party is also currently investigating the allegations of a number of other artists involved in prostitution besides TA. According to him, a number of artists were advertised through a website on the internet with the initials BM.

As for the arrest at a hotel in Bandung, Thursday, December 17, which involved a TA artist, the police confiscated a number of evidences such as credit cards, ATM cards, and contraceptives.

"The problem, which strengthens the existence of contraceptives, then there are payments and there are pimps and their victims, now we have obtained this series of crimes as evidence," he said.

From the alleged protitution case for the artist with the initials TA, the police have charged the three people suspected of being pimps with a number of articles.

Among them are article 45 paragraph 1 in conjunction with article 27 paragraph 1 of Law Number 16/2016 concerning amendments to Law Number 11/2008 concerning Electronic Transaction Information. And or article 12 of Law Number 21/2007 concerning the Crime of Trafficking in Persons.

"The sentence carries a maximum imprisonment of six to 15 years in prison," he said.