P 010435Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0849
INFO ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS

UNCLAS JAKARTA 002183 
 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EAP/MTS, G/TIP, INL SNYDER, INL ROESS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI SMIG KCRM ID
SUBJECT: SUMATRA:JAMBI POLICE RESCUE 5 TIP VICTIMS 
 
¶1. Summary. In a case which demonstrates how local police in remote 
parts of Indonesia are aware of anti-trafficking efforts, police 
raided a salon/karaoke parlor in Telanaipura District, Jambi 
Province in southern Sumatra on November 21, rescuing girls who had 
been trafficked into prostitution. This raid was part of an ongoing 
effort in Jambi. All of these West Java victims said they were 
promised jobs at the salon/karaoke parlor but were not aware that 
they were going to be prostituted. Jambi police arrested the couple 
who own the salon and are currently seeking the other traffickers 
involved. The couple will face child-trafficking, fraud, and pimping 
charges under Indonesia's tough new anti-trafficking laws. End 
Summary. 
 
SALON OWNERS ARRESTED: TRAFFICKERS SOUGHT 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. On November 21 Jambi police raided a local salon and karaoke 
parlor in the Telanaipura District, rescuing four girls and a woman 
who had been forced to work at the salon as prostitutes. Police 
arrested the business owner and his wife. The five victims ranged in 
age from 15 to 18 (one age 15, one age 16, two age 17 and one age 
18) and had been working in the salon for nearly a month. Four of 
the girls were from the West Java district Cianjur and one girl came 
from the East Jakarta suburb of Bekasi. The girls told police that 
they had originally signed up to work at the salon but were not 
aware that they would be prostituted. Locals in the neighborhood 
complained to police about the illegal activities, resulting in the 
November 21 raid. 
 
¶3. On November 24, after spending several nights at a government 
shelter run by Jambi social welfare authorities, the five 
trafficking victims were transported with police escort back to West 
Java. In a conversation with Consulate Medan staff on November 26, 
the Jambi police indicated they are collecting birth certificates 
and family information from all of the victims for use in the 
investigation and eventual charges against the salon owners. The 
police also stated that the parents of the victims denied any 
knowledge of their children being involved in prostitution in Jambi. 
Jambi police added that their focus was not only on bringing the 
couple to trial but in finding the traffickers that connected the 
salon owners to the victims and brought them to Jambi. 
 
15 TIP VICTIMS TO DATE IN 2008 
------------------------------ 
 
¶4. Jambi social workers told Consulate Medan staff in a conversation 
on November 26 that this is the third trafficking case in Jambi 
during 2008. During two previous cases a total of 10 TIP victims 
were returned to Java in cases similar to the November 21 raid. 
Jambi Province is the fourth largest producer of palm oil in Sumatra 
despite having a population of only 2.7 million, and is bisected by 
the trans-Sumatran highway which traverses the island and links it 
to Java. Police told Medan that they are considering wider sweeps of 
salons and karaoke parlors to search for additional victims with a 
focus on finding any underage girls who have been trafficked to 
Jambi for prostitution. 
 
¶5. Local Jambi NGO SIKOK told Consulate Medan that cases of 
trafficking and prostitution are on the rise in Jambi and that 
police action, while welcome, needed to be sustained and more 
broadly applied in order to be effective. The NGO, which is normally 
involved in HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and educates prostitutes on 
the risks of sexually transmitted diseases, told Medan that most of 
the people who frequent these types of salons are locals and that 
they pay in a range from IDR 200,000 to IDR 400,000 ($16 to $32) for 
sex with the women and girls. 
 
¶6. National Police and other government agencies have been 
undertaking a country-wide effort to educate local police and 
communities on human trafficking. Promoting public awareness about 
the tough new 2007 anti-trafficking law to remote areas has taken 
time but these efforts in Jambi show that the law is now having an 
impact in even some of the more isolated provinces. The fact that 
police acted on a tip from citizens indicates good cooperation 
between law enforcement authorities and civil society, so crucial in 
fighting trafficking. If Jambi authorities can deter trafficking to 
that province before it takes hold they can deter traffickers from 
using Jambi as a destination point. 
 
HUME