VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - The Indonesian Migrant Workers' Protection Agency (BP2MI) and the South Tangerang Police have thwarted an attempt to illegally place 18 migrant workers in Singapore and arrested three suspects.

The three suspects have been identified by their initials as MAY, who acted as a recruiter and distributor of migrant worker candidates; HK, who served as the manager of a shelter and language teacher; and MM, who served as a shuttle driver to the airport.

The migrant workers were found at a shelter located in a housing complex in North Serpong Sub-district in South Tangerang City, Banten Province, BP2MI Head Benny Rhamdani informed here on Monday.

Two of the workers were found while they were preparing to travel from Soekarno-Hatta Airport in Banten to Hang Nadim, Riau Islands, at 5:55 a.m. on Monday.

The agency had earlier received a tip on the illegal placement of the two workers in Singapore.

"So, on Monday, August 14, 2023, at around 3 a.m. WIB, BP2MI officers coordinated with the South Tangerang Police to jointly carry out prevention activities," Rhamdani said.

The workers were promised a monthly salary of S$640–S$750, or around Rp7 million to Rp9 million, as domestic workers.

Rhamdani said that each migrant worker candidate had already received Rp5 million to Rp6 million as pocket money.

"Of course, on this occasion, I, as the head of BP2MI, would like to express my deepest gratitude to all parties, especially the National Police, who have supported the eradication of the trafficking in persons (TPPO) involving Indonesian migrant workers as victims, and I hope that the perpetrators will be immediately exposed and processed properly," he said.

Rhamdani urged all Indonesian people who plan to work abroad to comply with work procedures, in accordance with existing regulations, through official channels that have been provided, as stipulated by Law Number 18 of 2017 concerning the Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers.

"Working abroad is the right of every citizen and the state will prepare all the facilities needed for the people to work abroad," he said. (Antaranews)