T

he South Jakarta Police have arrested a Japanese man for allegedly hiring two children for sexual purposes in the latest case of child prostitution in the city.

The 49-year-old, identified only as AA, allegedly molested two victims, identified only as NC and JC, both aged 12, who worked as tissue sellers at a shopping center in South Jakarta.

AA has also been identified as a chef at a restaurant in Jakarta.

South Jakarta Police Chief Comr. Mardiaz Kusin Dwihananto said AA had already pleaded guilty to the police.

Mardiaz said AA hired the children through a pimp, identified only by her pseudonym Mamih D. After AA paid the pimp, Mamih D would take the children to a hotel that she and AA had agreed on.

Mamih D, who was detained last Friday, ran a child prostitution ring by recruiting street children as sex workers by offering them a sum of money.

Clients paid Rp 2 million (US$148) for each child. Mamih D received Rp 400,000 commission for every child that her client hired.

“As for now, we are still investigating,” Mardiaz told The Jakarta Post on Monday.

The director of information and culture at the Japanese Embassy, Ryo Nakamura, said the embassy had been notified about the case.

“We have received the information that the police are still investigating the case,” he said. “As for the perpetrator’s identity, we are not in a position to confirm or deny it since the perpetrator does not want us to disclose his identity,” Nakamura added.

Child prostitution is prevalent in Indonesia. In 2015, End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes (ECPAT), an advocacy group, estimated that there were approximately 70,000 underage sex workers across the country. They said the increasing number of underage sex workers was the result of growing sex tourism.

ECPAT Indonesia coordinator Ahmad Sofian said as of 2017, the number had increased to 80,000 underage sex workers, 30 percent of whom are in Jakarta.

“Most of the underage sex workers in Jakarta are working in entertainment places like karaoke bars, hotels or pubs. West Jakarta has a larger number of underage sex workers than other areas.” Ahmad said.

Ahmad explained that the youngest child sex workers were 12-years-old. However, the industry is dominated by 14 to 16-year-old teenagers. Although the majority of underage sex workers are female, Ahmad said there has been an increasing number of male prostitutes as well, especially in big cities such as Bandung, Medan and Surabaya.

As for the clients, Ahmad told The Jakarta Post that most of the underage sex worker’s clients in Jakarta were foreigners.

“The number of foreign clients in Jakarta is larger than other cities.” he said.

Although most underage prostitutes are available for hire in brothels or entertainment places, Ahmad notes that there are also a large number of underage workers who are promoted through social media.

Indonesia outlawed prostitution and pedophilic acts in Article 76 of Law No. 35/2014 on child protection, which forbids the sexual exploitation of children.

The law’s Article 88 stipulates that anyone who violates the law will be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in prison and Rp 200 million in fines. (dpk)