Apriadi Gunawan, The Jakarta Post, Medan
A number of women from North Sumatra have fallen victim to a human trafficking syndicate, leading them to become sex workers in Malaysia, an official said recently.
Director of the Medan chapter of the Children Assessment and Protection Center (KKPA) Ahmad Sofyan said at least 106 young women aged 14 to 30 had been forced to work as sex workers in the last three years.
He said most of the victims were tricked by brokers who pretended to offer them jobs abroad as staff at pubs or as domestic workers with big salaries. Instead, they were made sex workers upon arrival in Malaysia.
Sofyan said the brokers were members of a syndicate that recruited young women and sold them abroad. The syndicate sought women in small villages and remote areas in North Sumatra.
"Most of the victims forced to work at brothels in Malaysia came from several remote villages in North Sumatra. They were usually jobless and interested in working outside their homeland," Sofyan said.
Saor Mauliana Nababan, 24, from Tanjung Balai, said she had been employed as a sex worker in Malaysia for about three months.
Saor said initially her friend offered her a job as a waitress in Malaysia for a salary of 600 ringgit per month, but upon arrival in that country she was forced to work as prostitute.
"After three days in Malaysia I was sold to a boss ... for 1,000 ringgit. I was transferred to Kuala Lumpur and sold from one man to another," Saor said.
Saor said she escaped from an apartment where she had been locked up by her boss. She then ran to Subang Perdana, where she was helped by an Indonesian migrant worker and his family.
"This family was very kind. They helped me much and gave me money to enable me to fly back home," Saor said.
North Sumatra Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Aspan Nainggolan said Monday the police had intensified its investigation in the syndicate.
Aspan said the police had recently captured a husband and wife team -- Sathia Moorthy and Malathi Alagu -- from Malaysia who was suspected to be a main actor in the trafficking. They had already sold 130 young women from North Sumatra to Malaysia in the period between July 2006 and January 2008.
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"We have established cooperation with the Malaysian Police to bust the human trafficking syndicate," Aspan said.
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