Indonesia Becoming Hot Destination For Australian Child Sex Tourists: Australian Police Up Vigil

The Australian police have stepped up vigil on its citizens, who may be frequenting to Indonesia in the guise of tourists for child sex. The police have amassed critical intelligence on many predators and is tracking many dubious money transfers to their contacts in Indonesia. According to Australian Federal Police regional commander Chris Sheehan, the police have procured specific information about a convicted paedophile who visited Indonesia in the past several months.

Sheehan told Fairfax Media in Jakarta that it came to know from Indonesian police that paedolphiles make relationships with local people who in turn have contacts with young children and their family members. Many poor families in Indonesia subsist on less than $2 per day. They are sitting ducks before the luring predators, reported Sydney Morning Herald.

Bali As Starting Point

Of late, Indonesia has emerged as the hot destination for many Australian tourists. According to the latest figures, nearly 18 percent of all sex offenders come to Indonesia and start their expeditions from Bali before travelling to other places.

Many of the child abusers will be on holidays. But dedicated predators come to access the preys than enjoying holidays in Indonesia. One-third of the country's population is under 18, and they are facing acute poverty. This makes them vulnerable to the lure of hard cash and other temptations.

Whispering Touts

Western tourists arriving to Kuta and Seminyak report that they get tempting offers in whispers into their ears from touts, who come and ask "Sir You want sex? We have good girls." Even some websites carry threads to inform men that a short-stay hotel with high school girls is ready. It will be past school hours but before 7 pm, else parents will knock at the door. The teens are also lured with phones, cameras and jewellery.

Natalia Perry from the Safe Childhoods Foundation says there are two types of sex tourists in Indonesia: One is the prolific type- who are active in paedophile forums and second is "situational" people who are tempted by a young- girl or boy. Both flock from Australia and other Western countries. But Indonesian police are not able to tackle the problem seriously.

In fact, an internal document of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) expressed fear that more sex offenders will prey upon children by taking advantage of Southeast Asia's economic integration and posing a challenge for law enforcement agencies, reported the Voice of America.

Police Alert

But the screws are tightening. It is time for offenders to be cautious. The Australian officer quoted the example of Wallbrand, an Australian school teacher who was accused of raping a number of boys in Lombok, and was later arrested in Australia. The offender was promptly extradited to Indonesia, and is in jail now.