A former Indonesian government official accused of imprisoning and enslaving 656 people on his soil under the guise of drug rehabilitation has been acquitted of human trafficking charges, raising concerns about endemic corruption at the local level in the country.
A three-judge trial panel on Monday acquitted former official Terbit Lencana Pelanging Angin, a blow to those seeking justice and compensation for their imprisonment, ill-treatment and forced labour.
“It is extremely unfortunate that modern slavery still exists in Indonesia, a country that has been independent for decades, and that such an incident occurred in the home of a public servant responsible for protecting the people,” said Anies Hidayah, commissioner of the Indonesian Human Rights Commission.
The trial took place in the district-sized Langkat regency in North Sumatra, where Pelanging Angin had long held power as regent and where several of his relatives held key positions.
After the judge read out the verdict, Peranging-anging expressed his gratitude to the judge, knelt in front of him and put his head on the floor.
Prosecutors, who had sought a 14-year prison sentence and $140,000 in damages, have indicated they intend to appeal.
The case highlights how widespread corruption is at the local level in Indonesia, where governors, regents and mayors of big cities are often referred to as “little kings.”
The cage was discovered in January 2022 when anti-corruption investigators searching for Peranging-anging in a separate bribery case found 65 men held captive in his mansion. He was convicted of bribery in that case, sent to prison and stripped of his jobs.
As regent, Ms. Pelangin-Angin started a drug rehabilitation program that promised free treatment, and some parents handed their sons over to the centers in the hopes that the program would help them overcome drug addiction.
But the victims say they never received treatment for their addictions, and instead were imprisoned, beaten, tortured and forced to work on the former regent’s palm plantations, palm oil mills and mansions, and some also said they were sexually abused by men who provided security for them.
A police investigation found that 656 men and teenagers had been imprisoned there over a 10-year period, with most being held for around 18 months. The Human Rights Commission found that six prisoners had died, including at least three who died from torture.
Indonesia’s Witness and Victim Protection Agency estimates that Pelanging Angin’s business has made $12 million from the unpaid labor of prisoners.
“The decision does not provide any sense of justice to the alleged victims, which is their right,” said Antoniusz Wibowo, the organization’s vice president, who has supported many of the victims and kept his identity secret.
Guards at the cage at Pelanging-angin’s compound included off-duty soldiers and police officers, as well as members of a youth gang known for extortion that Pelanging-angin led. Dozens of perpetrators named by victims have not been charged. Of those who have been charged, the longest sentence was three years in prison.
The former regent’s son, Dewa Lencana Pelanging Angin, was convicted of torturing and killing a man and sentenced to 19 months in prison. He was released after serving half his sentence.
