A 49-year-old Japanese national, identified by his initials AA, was arrested on Saturday on suspicion of paying to have sex with two street kids, both girls aged 11 and 13, in South Jakarta.
According to reports, AA was arrested at a Japanese restaurant where he works as a chef in Blok M, South Jakarta. In October, he allegedly paid a mami (colloquial term for a female head pimp) IDR2 million (US$148) to have sex with both young girls, who were scraping by selling tissues on the streets of Blok M.
“And then suspect AA went to a hotel (in Blok M) to carry out obscene acts with the two victims,” said Jakarta Police Spokesman Argo Yuwono, as quoted by Detik today.
The police arrested the mami and three other teenagers alleged to be pimps late last month. Authorities are looking into the possibility that the suspects were part of a larger child prostitution syndicate in the area, luring poor street children into sex work, mostly with foreign clients, with the promise of great financial reward.
The police charged AA with sexual exploitation of minors, which is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, as well as involvement in a human trafficking scheme, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. The charges against the mami and other pimps have not been announced.
The Jakarta Metro Police have notified the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta about AA’s arrest.
