The Kalibata City Apartment building in South Jakarta has gained a reputation for housing illegal foreigners and sex workers, leading to frequent raids by police and immigration officers. The latest arrests to take place at the infamous apartment are of two citizens from Afghanistan, one with the initials SAM (23-years-old) and the other AH (20-years-old).
The two were arrested on Wednesday after being caught in a sting operation by male immigration officers who had posed as potential customers over Whatsapp over the last week.
“They are gigolos, both can serve male as well as female customers,” South Jakarta Immigration Office Head Cucu Koswala told the media today as quoted by Kompas. He also said they charged fees ranging from Rp 500.000 to Rp 2 million.
Cucu said that the two suspects had primarily marketed themselves through word of mouth, although they were investigating whether they had solicited online. He said both claimed not to be part of a larger criminal organization. Both of the men were registered in Indonesia as refugees with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
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Both men have been charged with violating Article 122 of the 2011 Immigration Law which criminalizes any actions by a foreigner beyond the scope of what is allowed by their residence permit. It carries a maximum penalty of 5 years in jail and a fine of Rp 500 million.
Indonesia is home to many refugees from Afghanistan and other parts of the Middle East and Asia. Although Indonesia allows refugees to remain in the country while they seek relocation through UNHCR, they are not allowed to work or go to school, leaving most in an interminable legal and existential limbo.
