INDONESIA: In a shocking turn of events, a 39-year-old woman identified as Budi Hartini hailing from Teniga Village in the Tanjung District of North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), has been left paralyzed after her return from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September 2022.

Authorities suspect that she may have fallen victim to human trafficking.

Hartini’s condition is currently dire, as she is unable to speak and is confined to a wheelchair. Disturbingly, there are visible stitches on her head and scars on her throat.

Muhammad Saleh, the Chairperson of the Migrant Workers Legal Aid Center, revealed, “When she was brought back (picked up in Jakarta), she was already paralyzed, her head had already been fractured but had been stitched back together. Her body is now paralyzed; she can’t speak, can’t do anything, and no one seems to be taking responsibility.”

Budi Hartini has filed a report on her alleged human trafficking ordeal with the North Lombok Regional Police.

Accompanied by her family, the village head, the Legal Aid Center, and migrant worker protection advocates, she submitted her complaint to the Directorate of General Crime Investigation (Dit Reskrimum) at the NTB Regional Police headquarters.

According to Saleh, Hartini’s case goes beyond the usual human trafficking cases and involves potential violations of human rights.

“Because this case is not just a regular human trafficking case, but it involves human rights violations. The victim’s head was fractured, allegedly from a fall at the airport. But we do not yet know if this occurred at the airport,” he explained.

Saleh added that if the victim did fall at the airport, there should be an official statement from airport authorities or a local hospital.

“Because the airport is a highly accountable place. So, if someone falls, there should be a letter from the airport authorities, perhaps if she was still under the airline’s responsibility, there should also be a letter from the local police, a letter from the hospital, including the local government,” Saleh emphasized.

Novita Sari, a Migrant Worker Advocate, recounted that the incident began when Hartini registered as a domestic worker intending to go to the Middle East in May 2022, through an intermediary known as SY.

Shortly afterwards, Hartini was processed and sent to a shelter in Jakarta. After one week in Jakarta, she was then provided with a ticket to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

From the moment BD left for Riyadh, her family in Lombok received no further information.

“Based on the information we received, she had an accident at Riyadh Airport. According to what we heard, she had a head injury and underwent surgery,” Novita explained.

Throughout the surgical and medical treatment processes, the family received no communication whatsoever.

“During this process, there was no information given to the family, neither at the time of the incident nor during her treatment,” Novita stated.

Three months after Hartini’s alleged fall at Riyadh Airport, the family was informed that Hartini would be repatriated due to her illness.

“They only mentioned she was sick, without specifying the nature of her illness,” Novita added.

Upon Hartini’s return on 3 September 2022, the family was shocked and devastated. Budi Hartini, who had departed as a healthy migrant worker, returned in a pitiful condition.

Her hair had been shaved due to surgery, and there were visible stitches on her head from a surgical procedure. She also had scars on her throat, rendering her unable to speak, relying solely on gestures. Hartini’s condition remains far from stable.

Accompanied by her family, Hartini has reported the alleged human trafficking case to the NTB Regional Police in hopes of obtaining justice.

“Our hope is to achieve justice because this has led to permanent disability and to deter other intermediaries,” Novita remarked.

Ni Made Pujewati, the Head of Subdirectorate IV at the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Regional Police’s Directorate of General Crime Investigation. (Photo: TribunNews.com)

In response to the case, Ni Made Pujewati, the Head of Subdirectorate IV at the NTB Regional Police’s Directorate of General Crime Investigation, stated that they would thoroughly investigate the recruitment process of victims sent to work in Saudi Arabia.

“We will delve into the facts of what the victim actually experienced, starting from the recruitment process, this is a fragment that needs to be explored,” Pujawati said on Monday, September 25, 2023.

The NTB Regional Police’s Human Trafficking Task Force, in collaboration with district police departments, has already uncovered 31 cases in 2023 involving hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers.

Among these cases, Hartini’s condition has been described as the most severe.

BANGKOK, THAILAND: Southeast Asian nations, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have launched a groundbreaking strategy aimed at tackling organized crime and human trafficking in the region.

The initiative, announced in the Thai capital, Bangkok, is set to target criminal activities primarily linked to casinos, while also addressing money laundering and cybercrime.

Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), joined by China, and representatives from UNODC, unveiled the comprehensive plan of action.

The new plan aims to strengthen preventative measures and enhance the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to combat international organized crime and human trafficking on a regional scale.

“Trafficking in persons connected to casinos and scam operations run by organized crime has mushroomed across Southeast Asia, particularly in the Mekong” remarked Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative to Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“There is an urgent need for regional cooperation to address these increasingly integrated and interlinked crimes in the region, as well as the ecosystem they exist in.”

Human trafficking, often utilized to recruit victims into criminal activities, is just one facet of transnational organized crime, as highlighted in a policy report released by UNODC on Tuesday (26 Sep).

This criminal activity is closely associated with border casinos, large-scale money laundering operations, cybercrimes, and an array of other illicit offenses. The report also documented credible instances of torture and extortion within these criminal operations over the past year.

Profits generated by criminal organizations in the region have reached unprecedented levels, with illicit funds increasingly funneled through the regional casino industry and other cash-intensive businesses, including the surge in cryptocurrency usage.

“Organized crime groups are converging in the region where they see vulnerabilities,” Mr. Douglas commented.

According to the report, scam operations in one Southeast Asian country are estimated to generate a staggering US$7.5 and US$12.5 billion, or half the value of that country’s GDP.

“One group of trafficking victims can generate hundreds of thousands of US dollars in a week for traffickers,” the report noted.

UN Policy Report highlights transnational crime gangs establishing remote bases in Myanmar

The UN’s policy report has shed light on the alarming presence of organized crime gangs operating in the border areas of Myanmar, adjacent to China.

These remote locations, often inaccessible to law enforcement, serve as operational hubs for criminal syndicates perpetrating online scams, leaving trafficking victims with scant chances of escape.

Powerful Chinese and Taiwanese criminal organizations, operating primarily in the Mekong region and the Philippines, have orchestrated a “scamdemic” resulting in billions of dollars being siphoned off through tactics that include romance scams, extortion, and investment pyramid schemes.

While certain crackdowns have been executed in Cambodia and the Philippines, these criminal groups are evolving and perfecting their fraudulent activities from fortified compounds located within the protective umbrella of ethnic rebel groups in the conflict-ridden terrain of Myanmar.

Locations of casinos and scam centres in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar (source: UN report)

In Myanmar, a significant hub for criminal activities has flourished in the Myawaddy region, situated just across a small river from the western Thai border town of Mae Sot.

Another network of compounds stretches along Myanmar’s eastern border with China, extending northward through Shan State, passing through the special administrative area of Wa State, and reaching Kokang, which shares a border with China’s Yunnan province.

Transnational crime syndicates operating openly and forming unusual alliances

The report has found that, rather than operating in the shadows, transnational organised crime groups there can be remarkably open, in some cases presenting themselves as legitimate business entities or even philanthropic organisations.

Some organised crime chiefs have developed public alliances with influential business leaders and officials.

Co-chaired by the Philippines and UNODC, the new plan is finalised and will be tabled by the Philippines at the next ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime.

“Addressing this issue in one or a few countries’ domestic contexts, while necessary and welcome, will not have a significant impact,” warned Rebecca Miller, UNODC Regional Advisor on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.

“The plan the region has agreed to, includes practical and targeted actions to address transnational crime comprehensively and strategically.  Progress is being made, but more needs to be done and UNODC stands ready to support,” she added.