Sold Through The Michat Application, Woman From Bogor Forced To Become A Prostitute In Malang

Illustration of human trafficking (ANTARA)

Malang Police, East Java Police, succeeded in dismantling a criminal trafficking syndicate (TPPO) operating through the Michat application.

The victim, a woman with the initials CR (22) from Bogor Regency, West Java, is suspected of being forced to become a prostitute by her own boyfriend at a hotel in Kepanjen District, Malang Regency.

The Head of Public Relations of the Malang Police, Iptu Ahmad Taufik, revealed that the two main suspects with the initials RM (20) and JA (19) were arrested. Both came from Cibinong District, Bogor Regency, West Java.

The arrest was made by the operational unit of the Malang Police Criminal Investigation Unit on August 2, 2023 at a hotel in Kepanjen District, Malang Regency.

"The Malang Police Satreskrim team managed to arrest the two perpetrators after they sold the victim to work as a commercial sex worker at a hotel," said Iptu Ahmad Taufik in his statement, Wednesday, August 9.

Iptu Ahmad Taufik explained that the perpetrators planned to sell the victim to a masher through Michat's social media application at a rate of between Rp. 300,000 and Rp. 700,000.

During the raid, the police confiscated a number of evidences including cash worth Rp. 650,000, contraceptives, and 2 cellphones used in the transaction. The two suspects have different roles in this syndicate, where RM is a temporary service provider for JA looking for male masher customers. They pocket a profit of around Rp. 50,000 per transaction.

"The victim and the perpetrators have known each other for a month. They initially planned to take a vacation to Bromo, but it turned out that they lived in a hotel in Kepanjen for 3 weeks," said Iptu Ahmad Taufik.

More worrying, the victim is suspected of experiencing violence and coercion by the two perpetrators when forced to serve male mashers.

Currently, the two perpetrators have been named suspects and detained at the Malang Police Rutan. They will be charged with Article 2 paragraph (1) of Law Number 21 of 2007 concerning the Crime of Trafficking in Persons and Article 27 paragraph (1) of Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions, with a maximum prison sentence of 7 years.

"Investigators from the PPA Unit of the Malang Police Satreskrim continue to carry out intensive examinations of the perpetrators because there are indications that the victim experienced violence while being forced to take these actions," he explained.

Taufik appealed to the public to remain vigilant against the threat of human trafficking and invite all parties to protect an environment that is safe from various forms of human exploitation.

In order to prevent criminal acts of trafficking in persons, the public is expected to be more sensitive to the surrounding environment and report suspicious activities to the authorities.

"The Malang Resort Police will continue to increase patrols and law enforcement to eradicate human trafficking syndicates that damage dignity and humanity," he concluded.