A vessel is seen opposite the Marina Pier in front of Batam island (background) in Singapore on May 2, 2020. - AFP
JAKARTA: The police have arrested an employee of the Batam Free Trade Zone Authority (BP Batam) for alleged involvement in a human trafficking scheme, after previously rescuing two women who were about to depart for Singapore illegally.
The 50-year-old employee, identified only by the initials RS, was arrested alongside another suspect identified only as MN, 54, at the Batam Centre Harbor Bay on Oct 31.
Riau Islands Police chief Sr Comr Dony Alexander said the police received a tip that two women, identified only as LF, 37, from East Java and TH, 24, from West Nusa Tenggara, were about to depart from Batam to Singapore as illegal migrant workers.
“Based on the report, personnel from IV subdivision of Riau Islands Police Criminal Investigation Department conducted a series of investigations to find if a crime was taking place,” Dony said on Monday (Nov 18), Antara reported.
He said the police were able to rescue the two victims by 1pm on Oct. 31, and on the same day the police also detained the suspects, RS and MN.
From the suspects, the police confiscated pieces of evidence including two passports, two ferry boarding passes, two ferry tickets, three cellphones, a savings account passbook and an ATM card.
Donny said the police were still investigating the case for the possibility of other suspects or the involvement of a human trafficking network. He said the police had also handed over the two women to Riau Islands Women and Children’s Protection Agency to help them return to their home towns.
RS and MN have been charged under Article 4 of the 2007 Human Trafficking Law and Article 81 of the 2017 Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers Law. Separately, BP Batam spokesperson Sazani said the body expressed regret that one of its employees was allegedly involved in a trafficking scheme.
“BP Batam fully supports the police in enforcing the law so similar incidents will not happen in the future,” Sazani said on Monday, kompas.com reported.
Batam’s location on the country’s maritime border with Singapore makes it a gateway for human trafficking and in August this year a woman was arrested for allegedly sending illegal migrants to Cambodia to work as online gambling operators.
Batam Police arrested the suspect, identified only as JW, on Aug 28, when she was about to hand out two Malaysia-bound tickets to suspected victims of human trafficking.
The police previously received a tip that the victims were scheduled to meet JW at the Mega Mall Batam Centre, near the Batam Centre Harbor Bay. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
