Woman Sold Stepdaughter for $19 to Pay Off Debt in Pekanbaru

Liputan6.com, Pekanbaru - The police in Pekanbaru, Riau Province, hunted down a woman with the initials M who sold her own stepdaughter. She sold her young stepdaughter with initial N to a young man in his early 20s.

The chief of the police sector of Bukit Raya, Adjutant Commissioner Syafnil, explained that young man has been arrested by the personnel of the Criminal Investigation Agency for sexual act with a minor.

The young man is 21-year-old and already detained for investigation.

"The victim's stepmother is still being sought," said Syafnil on Tuesday evening.

Syafnil said the victim is still 13 years old. The victim told her father through a message that the perpetrator came to the house to do an indecent act to her after her stepmother sold her to him.

The victim's father rushed home after getting the information. He found that the perpetrator was already there with his daughter.

"The victim's father secured the perpetrator immediately and handed him over to the police station," Syafnil explained.

The perpetrator was then questioned by the investigators. He confessed that the victim's stepmother was in debt and could not pay it off. Therefore, she chose to sell her stepchild.

The police did not know how much money the stepmother owed to the perpetrator. However, the perpetrator said that the victim's stepmother sold the victim for Rp 300 thousands (US$ 19.2).

"This case is part of the trafficking of minors," Syafnil said. The stepmother is expected to face the punishment according to the child protection law with the threat of 15 years in prison.

Writer: Adelina Wahyu Martanti

M Syukur contributed to this report.