Malaysian Held for Human Trafficking

Banda Aceh, TAG. Police in Aceh on Thursday said they had arrested a Malaysian woman over allegations that she was involved in human trafficking.



Adj. Comr. Erlin Tangjaya, head of the Aceh Police’s detectives unit, said Rahma binti Buang, 42, was arrested on May 7 in Beureunuen, Pidie district. 



“We delayed making an announcement on her arrest because the case involves a foreigner and we needed to obtain strong evidence first before declaring her a suspect,” Erlin told the Jakarta Globe. 



The suspect, a resident of Selangor state on the west coast of peninsular Malaysia, is being detained at police headquarters in Pidie, about 110 kilometers southeast of Aceh’s capital, Banda Aceh. 



Erlin said Rahma, who is married to an Acehnese man, recruited four women who were hired as maids in Malaysia. 



“None of them were paid,” the officer said. 

Police have identified the four women as Nurani, 21; Mursyidah, 18; Rohaya, 35; and Maria, 35. 



Rahma, according to Erlin, sent the women to a recruitment agency in Malaysia, receiving payment of about 400 Malaysian ringgit ($125) for each of the four. 



He said the investigation into Rahma began following a police complaint filed by Nurani, who claimed to have been locked up in her employer’s house in Malaysia for seven months. 



“Nurani managed to escape and return home to Aceh after she lied to her agent and said that her parents had died,” Erlin said. 



He said Rahma had promised the women high-paying jobs in Negeri Sembilan state, just south of Malaysia’s capital, Kuala Lumpur. 



“But they weren’t paid at all, and were even locked up by their agents,” Erlin said.

Aceh Police spokesman Farid Ahmad Saleh said authorities were working with Interpol’s National Central Bureau-Indonesia to locate the other three women allegedly sent to Malaysia by the suspect. He said police would also coordinate with their Malaysian counterparts to find the women and return them to their homes. 



“Hopefully we can save the other three victims immediately and get them back home to Aceh,” he said.[]