19-year-old girls nabbed for tricking minors into prostitution
They are accused of tricking Aceh teenagers with promise of a free holiday in Singapore
Published on Jan 31, 2012
By Zakir Hussain, Indonesia Correspondent
JAKARTA - Two 19-year-old girls have been arrested in Aceh for duping two minors into working as prostitutes in Singapore, in what police in the province say is part of a cross-border trafficking network based in Batam.
The case has angered many in Indonesia's religious, westernmost province, who called for the government to crack down on syndicates that lure young girls into joining the flesh trade with promises of free holidays and other lies.
The two victims left Banda Aceh on Dec 12 on a flight to Medan and Batam, where they stayed for several days while travel documents were made for them, Commissioner Armaini, who heads the sub-directorate for the protection of women and children, told The Straits Times on Monday.
The victims were 15 and 16 years old, but their passports listed their ages as 20 and 21 to evade suspicion.
Read the full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.
