The arrest of two alleged coordinators of child beggars in Depok, West Java, on Sunday could serve as a reminder to residents to think twice before donating money to beggars.
Depok Public Order Agency detained Surti, 54, and Supriyati, 53, residents of Rawa Panjang village in Bogor regency, West Java, while they were managing several child beggars on Jl. Juanda and Jl. Margonda respectively.
“Each of them managed four children. They ordered the children to beg for money from passersby,” the agency head Yayan Arianto said as reported by wartakota.tribunnews.com on Tuesday.
“We confiscated a bag containing an empty ‘charity money’ envelope and a box with ‘Donations for the orphans’ written on it. There was also a pianica and some copies of IDs,” he added.
According to information obtained from the suspects, most coordinators and child beggars came from outside Depok. They all live in rented houses or huts behind the bus terminal.
“Each child must earn Rp 50,000 [US$3.5] to Rp 100,000 every day and submit the money to their respective coordinators. Should they fail to meet the target, they wouldn’t be fed,” Yayan explained.
The suspects also told the officers that they had their own coordinator, identified as Juleha. Juleha was the one who recruited and brought all the coordinators and children to Depok.
Yayan expressed hope the arrests would help the agency uncover the child trafficking syndicate, especially ahead of the month of Ramadhan. (vla)
