Court sentences Bali backyard brothel madams behind child prostitution to 5 years each

The backyard brothel was discovered on Jl. Sekar Waru, Sanur. Photo via Google Maps
The backyard brothel was discovered on Jl. Sekar Waru, Sanur. Photo via Google Maps

The Denpasar Court has sentenced the pair allegedly behind the child sex trafficking case that was uncovered in Sanur earlier this year to five years in prison each, after the women were found guilty of violating the 2002 Law on Child Protection. 

“The defendants are proven guilty of economic or sexual exploitation of children. [They] violated the Law on Child Protection,” said Ni Made Purnami, who heads the panel of judges, as quoted by Kumparan. 

The decision is actually lighter than the prosecutor’s demands of seven years’ imprisonment, Bali Post reported. 

Ni Komang Suciwati, 49, and Ni Wayan Aristiani, 51, were arrested by Bali Police after a raid in January revealed five child prostitutes, trafficked from Bekasi, West Java, displayed like objects behind glass in Sanur. They were allegedly part of a backyard brothel operating in the neighborhood.

According to reports from local media, Suciwati had acted as a procuress for Kristiani’s brothel operation, and was connected to the victims through a woman named Cindy Belvia Sari, who used to work for her as a call girl. 

Cindy, who the police are reportedly still searching for, allegedly promised the girls IDR10 million (US$712) in monthly salary with benefits, after which she proceeded to fly them to Bali from Jakarta in October of last year. 

The five victims are between 15 and 18 years old. Kristiani reportedly agreed to provide a spot for the girls in the brothel, but only if they were at least 18 years old. She did not bother to check their documentation, however, and merely guessed their respective ages by looking at them, according to a report from Tribun-Bali. 

Shortly after their arrests in January, the Denpasar Integrated Care Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children (P2PT2) said that Aristiani’s brothel operation could have garnered a gross turnover of up to IDR2.7 billion (US$192,000) per month, before deductions and profit share.

Read more news and updates from Bali here.



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