WHEN TEMPO visited Arum, the alleged leader of a child prostitution ring, at National Police Headquarters, she seemed relaxed. The 27-year-old detainee was busy hanging up her laundry. During the interview, which took place through prison bars, Arum asked for mercy from the courts. "I ask for a lenient verdict," she pleaded.

Arum, a mother of two, has attracted unwanted notoriety recently, having been accused of selling the sexual