T

he Foreign Ministry successfully repatriated nine victims of human trafficking, seven who are minors, from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on April 23.

'€œThe victims were all forced into prostitution by an agent, thankfully we have been able to get them back home,'€ Hermono, Indonesia'€™s deputy ambassador to Malaysia, told reporters on Thursday.

Hermono explained that the Foreign Ministry had received a tip-off from the parent of one of the victims, who filed a report to the NGO Migrant Care after experiencing difficulties contacting her daughter.

Officials from the Indonesian Embassy in Kuala Lumpur cooperated with the Malaysian Immigration Department and the Malaysian Police'€™s trafficking division between April 9 - 12 to evacuate the nine victims.

The victims had been rotated around 11 spas for between one to five months before they were rescued. Hermono explained that the victims usually stayed above the spas, so escape was difficult.

Four of the spas have since been closed down.

According to Sr. Comr. Aby Nursetyanto, a police attaché at the embassy, the victims, aged 15 to 18, all came from in and around Bogor.

Aby added that eight of the victims had been taken to Malaysia by the same person, only identified as '€œIna'€. The agent lured the victims with the promise of well-paying jobs and fake passports that indicated they were older than they actually were.

'€œThis does not mean that Ina was the only agent. We hope that by questioning Ina and the victims further, we can find out who the other agents are and the location of their networks. We will be working with the National Police Criminal Investigations Directorate and the Immigration Directorate General on the investigation,'€ Aby said.

He added that the National Police had received previous reports about Ina'€™s trafficking activities in 2003, but police were unable to detain her.

Ina is currently awaiting questioning by the Malaysian Immigration Department and the Malaysian Police. However, both Hermono and Aby said that they hoped that she would be convicted of violating the Malaysian Immigration Act of 1959 instead of the 2007 Malaysian Trafficking of Persons Act.

The Social Affairs Ministry will work with the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) to ensure the well being of the victims.

Hermono explained that according to the rescued victims'€™ statements, there were still around 60 Indonesians working at the spas. However, the Malaysian authorities said that they were not found during the raids and might have already been moved on.

The International Organization of Migration (IOM) estimates that around three to four million Indonesian migrant workers have been subject to experiences indicative of trafficking. (fss)