Several female Vietnamese nationals who were arrested for their alleged involvement in a prostitution ring in North Jakarta being presented during a press briefing in Jakarta on Dec 13. - Antara
JAKARTA: The Immigration Directorate General has detained 12 Vietnamese women for their alleged involvement in a prostitution ring in Muara Karang, North Jakarta.
The women entered Indonesia on tourist visas, either using a visa-free scheme or obtaining a visa on arrival. They were found to be offering sexual services for clients, violating Article 122 of the 2011 Immigration Law for misusing their residence permits.
“They were coming [for] vacation in Indonesia and not part of any tour group. But it turns out that they became commercial sex workers here,” said the Immigration Office’s director for supervision and enforcement Yuldi Yusman in a live-streamed press briefing on Friday.
The investigation began after the Immigration Office received a tip-off. After a month-long investigation, the officers raided the location in Muara Karang on Thursday, finding the women to be engaged in prostitution.
They had been living in Indonesia for a month before the arrest. Yuldi said that the organizer charged Rp 5.6 million (US$349.56) per person for one date.
The immigration authorities will deport the arrested women and ban them from coming to Indonesia for two years.
Immigration officials are investigating the criminal network behind the operation, aiming to identify the organisers who facilitated the women’s entry into the country and set up the prostitution ring.
“We’re trying to investigate who the coordinator is and how they got here,” Yuldi said.
He added that the Indonesian authorities were coordinating with their Vietnamese counterparts for further legal action against the arrested women.
While the women were arrested for allegedly misusing their visas in Indonesia, prostitution is generally restricted in many regions in the country, mostly regulated by regional bylaws.
The new Criminal Code (KUHP) was enacted early last year but will only take effect in January 2026.
The code does not prohibit any person from offering sexual services, but it carries a criminal punishment of around two years for people found guilty of establishing and taking financial benefits from prostitution activities. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
