During the raid, the team rescued 12 women hailing from several areas, including Lombok in West Nusa Tenggara, Magelang in Central Java and Kediri and Trenggalek, both in East Java, who had been recruited to work abroad illegally.

Initially, the workers were scheduled to be dispatched to Singapore. They had been accommodated in the house belonging to a local resident identified as Alan Hermawan since two weeks ago.

“We had investigated that place since December. The dispatch of the Indonesian workers was illegal because it was not conducted via an official company but carried out individually and without proper permits,” said BNP2TKI deputy chairman for worker placement Agusdin Subiantoro, who led the raid on Thursday evening.

He said Hermawan was a former employee of PPTKIS, a private labor supply company in Karanganyar. “Two years ago, PPTKIS closed its operation but Hermawan continued to dispatch Indonesian workers to Singapore and Taiwan by doubling up placement processes conducted by an official labor supply company in Jakarta,” said Agusdin.

He further said the government did not permit workers from being dispatched by individuals. “A worker placement can be conducted only by a company, moreover if the Indonesian migrant worker will be employed as a domestic helper,” he went on. (ebf)

Popular

Wreck of Tunu Pratama Jaya ferry found upside down in Bali Strait

Java airports grounded by low demand, poor planning

MRT Jakarta to launch tender for $3b east-west line in Q4