T

he girl is only 17 years old, but the amount of money she earns in a month is much more than most of her peers. Cindy (not her real name) said she could make Rp 30 million (US$3,300) a month.

But Cindy is not a singer who had a breakthrough in a television talent show. She is a high-end prostitute who has only been in the business for a year.

“I initially got into the business because I needed to repay my father’s money he had given me. I used the money for drugs instead of paying his car installments,” Cindy told The Jakarta Post in her rented room in a crowded neighborhood in West Jakarta.

“I was confused and I thought that by becoming a prostitute I could get money quickly,” Cindy said.

Cindy’s first client was a general manager at a large company in her hometown of Lampung, she said.

But what she thought would be a one-time act to pay off her debt turned into a full-time job.

She does not expect to quit the trade anytime soon. Cindy said she charged Rp 2 million (US$224) per client per trick, a significant amount for her regular clients who range from businessmen to political big-wigs.

One of her clients was a government minister, she said.

If you think poverty is what drove Cindy to prostitution, think again. Cindy had a middle-class upbringing.

Her father is a contractor and two of her uncles are high-ranking police officers — one is a top official at the National Police.

Her grandfather runs one of the biggest hotels in her hometown, she said. “My grandfather is also the patron of most of the police officers,” she said.

Cindy said it was her grandfather’s clout that saved her when she landed in hot water.

“My father is a drug user. He frequently has trouble with the police, but my grandfather or my uncles have always been there for him,” she said.

With such a troubled past, Cindy thought prostitution was the best way to rebel against her father.

In spite of her good income, Cindy said she did not know where all the money went.

She is always strapped for cash by the end of the month. “I don’t know where all the money goes, but maybe that’s because I use it for drugs to use with my friends,” she said.

Cindy said she also gave money to her mother, who has a strained relationship with her father.

Sagita (not her real name), another high-end prostitute, lives in the same boarding house as Cindy.

Sagita has been in the business for eight years, and said she charges her clients between Rp 3 and 4 million per trick.

Sagita doesn’t have a history like Cindy’s.

Now 28 years old, she said she used to work in marketing at a karaoke bar in Surabaya, East Java.

“Then I saw that a female escort had an easier time. I decided to leave my position and apply to be an escort,” Sagita said.

She enjoys being a prostitute as she gets easy money to pay for her lavish lifestyle, she said.

She never does drugs, she added. “Sometimes I think this is a filthy job, but the money is good,” Sagita said.

She makes an average of Rp 15 million a month. Sagita said her clients included some of the country’s powerful politicians.

“I once went out with a legislator from an Islamist party. While we were at it, he said he needed to pray. It felt weird to have him praying by my side,” Sagita said.

For both Cindy and Sagita, they rely on word-of-mouth to advertise their services. “I usually give a 10 percent commission for each transaction if friends or former clients get me new clients,” Sagita said.

University of Indonesia sociologist Imam Prasodjo said prostitutes like Cindy and Sagita, who come from middle-class backgrounds, were looking to fulfill more than just their basic needs.

“Some people need to meet more than just basic needs to be satisfied. For those people, going to expensive restaurants and having new clothes is important. So they look for other ways to meet those needs,” he said.