Victim or Perpetrators? The Dilemma of Criminal Liability in Scam Center Cases as a Form of Modern Trafficking in Persons
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59525/rechtsvinding.1631Keywords:
Victim, Perpetrator, Scam Center, Criminal Liability, Trafficking in PersonsAbstract
The development of digital technology has changed the pattern of trafficking in persons crimes from conventional forms to new forms of digital-based exploitation, one of which is through the phenomenon of scam centers. This phenomenon raises legal issues regarding the status of victims who are in a dual position as victims of trafficking in persons as well as perpetrators of criminal acts. This study aims to analyze the dilemma of criminal liability in the case of scam centers as a form of modern trafficking in persons as perpetrators or victims that occurs in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. This research method is a normative research with a statute approach and a victimization approach. The results of the study showed that the practice of scam centers met the elements of trafficking in persons crimes based on Articles 4 and 12 of the Anti-Trafficking Law. From a victimology perspective, the victim is in a position of victim-offender overlap because in addition to being a victim of exploitation, the victim is also forced to commit the crime of online fraud so that based on the criminal responsibility theory and Article 36 paragraph (1) of the National Criminal Code, the theory of coercion (overmacht theory) and Article 42 of the National Criminal Code, the principle of non-punishment of victims/non-criminalization and Article 18 of the Anti-Trafficking Law, the theory of no culpability without freedom, and the Palermo Protocol, victims who commit criminal acts due to coercion and exploitation cannot be fully held criminally responsible because the crime is committed on the basis of coercion without full freedom of will, then the victim of the scam center It is more appropriate to position as victims of trafficking who are entitled to protection to prevent criminalization of victims.
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