Now we know prostitution totally exists, you guys, and we can thank one of our elected representatives for the enlightenment.
On Jan. 26, police in the city of Padang, West Sumatra raided a hotel room and arrested a 26-year-old woman, who is identified by her initials NN, on suspicion of prostitution, as well as her alleged pimp, 24-year-old AS. NN was reportedly booked via an instant messaging platform and had agreed on a IDR800K (US$58.30) fee from an unidentified client.
The next day, House of Representatives (DPR) member and Gerindra party deputy secretary general Andre Rosiade posted a video on his Twitter account, in which he claimed that he helped set up the prostitution sting as a way to prove that prostitution exists in his hometown and that sex workers can be booked online.
Saya bersama aparat kepolisian, membongkar kegiatan praktek prostitusi online di salah satu hotel di Kota Padang. Ini kedepan harus menjadi pelajaran dan bahan evaluasi bagi kita. Ini bukan PR polisi saja. Namun PR kita semua. pic.twitter.com/G2ctKoUh5W – Andre Rosiade (@andre_rosiade) January 27, 2020
Other than the big question of why a people's representative would be involved in a prostitution sting, the story is pretty much straightforward so far. But then, an investigation carried out by local media outlet Suara published yesterday opened the floodgates to some huge discrepancies in the story.
According to the report, it was Andre who booked the hotel room that day using an ID card belonging to a man named Bimo Nurahman, who is known to be the politician's aide. Police said Andre also set up the meeting with NN using MiChat under his friend's account.
NN then met her client at the hotel room. According to her, while she was pleasuring him, they heard a knock at the door. After the client got dressed, they opened the door to find cops and dozens of reporters with cameras outside. NN hid in the bathroom as she was still naked, while the client went MIA since then.
NN, who said she didn't know who Andre was prior to her capture, said she doesn't know who her client was but guessed that he was in his 40s. When shown a photo of Bimo, NN said he bore no resemblance to the client.
NN lamented that the client violated her if this was indeed a sting operation. "Why must he use me first?" she said.
Strangely, the police, who should be the most well-informed party in any sting, do not know who NN's client was.
Speaking to reporters today, Andre denied that he set up the meeting with NN. According to him, he went to the hotel room after NN was caught and reporters were already at the scene. He also denied that the client, who he said was a concerned citizen who set up the meeting with NN, "used" her like she claimed.
"How could she have been 'used' or there being any 'intimacy' as suggested by misleading opinions [against Andre]. The fact is, the piece of evidence, a condom, was unused," Andre tweeted yesterday evening.
"Why all the fuss now? The police have already named her a suspect. Maybe some people were bothered by the arrest. Or maybe this is a fight back against the eradication of vice in Padang," he wrote in another tweet.
Well, whatever the truth is in this case and whoever it was who NN served or not served, now there is zero doubt that prostitution is real and it only took the national humiliation of a sex worker to confirm that fact.
Now can we get our elected representatives to use their guile to put to bed, once and for all, that climate change is real, please?