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China – Indonesian citizens are advised by the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing to increase awareness of fraudulent practices under the guise of love and arranged marriages which are now in China.
This method of fraud offers Indonesian women as mail-order brides with false promises regarding the economic and social status of their future husband.
The Coordinator of Protocol and Consular Functions at the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing, Widya Airlangga, revealed that the perpetrators promised Indonesian women a dowry of around IDR 20 million.
They were also promised husbands with stable economic conditions and luxurious residences.
Koordinator Fungsi Protokol dan Konsuler KBRI Beijing Widya Airlangga
- ANTARA/Desca Lidya Natalia
However, in reality, the husband is often just a farmer or unskilled laborer, some even don't work at all, and live in remote areas.
“Indonesian women are lured with a better life, including the ability to send money to their families in Indonesia. Unfortunately, these are just sweet promises which often end in bitter reality," Airlangga said in an statement.
This phenomenon came about as a result of the one-child policy implemented in China decades ago, which resulted in an imbalance in the number of men and women. Chinese men also face difficulties in finding partners from their own citizens as the dowry required to marry Chinese women tends to be higher.
Airlangga added that syndicates of matchmaking agents in China work with syndicates in Indonesia to target women from the lower-middle class.
These syndicates look for potential victims in various cities in Indonesia, starting from Singkawang, Mempawah, Sambas, and other cities in West Kalimantan, and spreading to Jakarta, Banten, and West Java in recent years.
The practice of matchmaking involving matchmaking agents is common in China, so the Indonesian Embassy in Beijing has difficulty in prosecuting the perpetrators of this crime as Human Trafficking (TPPO).
Airlangga emphasized that the determination of mail-order bride cases as human trafficking must pay attention to criminal elements in accordance with Law No. 21 of 2007 concerning the Eradication of TPPO.
"We continue to provide protection to Indonesian citizens and educate the public not to be easily fooled by unreasonable offers," Airlangga remarked.
The Indonesian Embassy in Beijing continues to coordinate with authorities in Indonesia to combat this fraud syndicate and provide advocacy to victims and their families.
