Police Arrest Couples In Aceh Forced Children To Beg For The Sake Of Buying Drugs

A press conference related to cases of economic exploitation of children at the Banda Aceh Police Headquarters, Thursday (29/2/2024) (ANTARA/Rahmat Fajri)

Banda Aceh Police arrested a married couple from Aceh Besar for allegedly exploiting the child's own economy by begging whose money was used to buy drugs.

"That these two parents employ their children to earn money for their lives," said Banda Aceh Deputy Chief of Police, AKBP Satya Yudha Prakasa, in Banda Aceh as reported by ANTARA, Thursday, February 29.

The two suspects, namely the husband with the initials MN (38) and wife A (42) years old, came from one of the sub-districts in Aceh Besar District.

Satya said the two suspects exploited their children by forcing begging in coffee shops (warkop) to a red light intersection in the Banda Aceh City area.

"The two children who were victims of the exploitation were one four years old and the other two years old. The two victims have been forced to beg," he said.

Unfortunately, said Satya, the results of begging for his son were used by the parents who were married in a serial manner to buy methamphetamine.

"The begging results are used to use drugs, and we are also still investigating where they got the goods," he said.

In this case, the Banda Aceh Police secured evidence in the form of Rp32 thousand in cash, a methamphetamine suction device and a box that reads "Please help sincerely for the poor".

He emphasized that the suspect's activities were not justified and violated the Child Protection Law. Parents should pay for their children's lives.

"This activity by parents is not true from law or religion. They should provide life for their children, not the other way around," said Satya Yudha Prakasa.