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Police under fire for allowing identity of prostitution suspect to become known
The 27-year-old star’s identity and news about her have gone viral on the internet since she was arrested for allegedly meeting a client at a hotel on Dec. 5, 2018.
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The police have been criticized for allowing the identity of a soap opera star allegedly involved in a prostitution ring to become known online. (Shutterstock/File)
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ights activists have criticized the police for allowing the identity of a soap opera star, officially identified only as VA and allegedly involved in a prostitution ring, to become known online.
The 27-year-old star’s identity and news about her have gone viral on the internet since she was arrested for allegedly meeting a client at a hotel on Dec. 5, 2018.
The actress has been named a suspect in the case but has been released pending trial. She has reportedly been subject to abuse on various social media platforms since then.
Her last post on her Instagram account on Dec. 3, showing her posing with a dog, received almost 118,000 comments in the last two weeks, mostly condemning her for her alleged involvement in prostitution.
“Good luck selling your cakes in prison. Hope they sell fast and many of them like it : ),” one poster @risyadmaulana commented under the post.
Meanwhile @andyprasetyo67 said, “I think it’s too expensive at Rp 80 million [US$ 5,676]. I can get better than her for only Rp 700,000,” referring to the fee that the police claim the actress demanded from a client.
The East Java Police arrested the actress at a hotel room in Surabaya with a businessman who is believed to have paid the celebrity to have sex with him. The police have never revealed the identity of the alleged client.
VA was later named a suspect in the prostitution case after the police discovered nude photos and videos of her. The evidence also led to the arrest of four alleged pimps, identified only as ES, TN, F and W.
The Indonesian Women’s Coalition (KPI) said on Thursday, that while the police had a right to carry out their duties, they must also uphold the principle of the presumption of innocence.
KPI secretary general Ria Yulianti said prostitution involved human trafficking and therefore the women involved should be considered victims who had the right to be protected, including with regard to their identity.
“In VA’s case, the police have the responsibility to respect the woman both as a victim and as a suspect, as stipulated in National Police Chief Regulation No. 8/2009,” she told The Jakarta Post.
Article 20 of the regulation stipulates that when a woman is arrested several things must be considered, including protection of her privacy.
“Police neglected this regulation in VA’s case so she suffered harm, including excessive news coverage and public condemnation. This affects VA psychologically and has caused depression,” he said
“Law enforcers should be fair, if they publish VA’s identity, they should also identify the pimps and the service users. This demonstrates gender inequality,” she said.
Lucky Endrawati, a criminal law expert from the Dian Mutiara Women's Crisis Center in Malang, East Java, said in a prostitution case the clients should also be charged, as well as the pimps.
“I think we haven’t seen [prostitution clients being charged],” Lucky said.
She said Article 12 of Law No.21/2007 on human trafficking stipulated that anyone having sex or abusing the victims of human trafficking should face criminal charges.
