Last weekend, South Jakarta police arrested four people accused of beating children to force them to beg for money, as well as renting out and drugging babies to others. The horrible stories behind their arrests finally put the spotlight on the everyday issue of child begging and exploitation in Jakarta, and authorities have promised to work harder to put an end to such practices.
In a sign that they really are getting tough on the cruel crime, yesterday South Jakarta police arrested three more people suspected of child exploitation, specifically trying to sell a baby to others.
South Jakarta Police Superintendent Surawan said the arrest of the three was the result of their investigations into child exploitation cases in Blok M, which is where last weekend’s arrests were also made.
“The three suspects with initials KD (46), W (42) and SW were arrested on March 30, 2016 in front of Jalan Wolter Monginsidi in Kebayoran Baru, after police performed an undercover buy,” Surawan said today as quoted by Tribunnews.
Police said one of the three people arrested, SW, is the mother of a 3-month-10-day-old baby who was being sold. The other two suspects, KD and W (who apparently goes by the alias Mama Dina) were arrested for trying to find prospective buyers for the baby.
The three suspects have been charged under the 2007 Law on Human Trafficking the 2014 Child Protection Act. They could face up to 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp 600 million.
In the wake of last weekend’s shocking arrests, Jakarta Governor Basuki Ahok Tjahaja Purnama has promised to build a boarding school for 2,000 former child beggars before the end of the year. He has also gotten officials to agree to a test removal of the 3-in-1 traffic rule starting next week after concerns were raised that it was facilitating child exploitation.
