Singapore tourists allegedly extorted up to $250 by Batam immigration officers; authorities investigating

Indonesia's Directorate General of Immigration is investigating alleged accounts of extortion targeting foreign nationals, including Singaporeans, arriving at Batam Centre International Ferry Terminal. 

Riau Islands regional immigration office head Ujo Sutojo said his office has identified an employee with the initials JS, along with a third-party individual, AS, as suspects in the scheme. 

"Any officers involved in the case will be penalised according to the disciplinary procedure," news agency Antara reported Sutojo saying at a press conference on Sunday (March 29).

Last week, Batam's immigration authorities launched an investigation into its officers following a report that foreigners have been extorted of up to $250. 

"Currently, the Immigration Directorate General's Internal Compliance Directorate is studying and investigating the report," Kharisma Rukmana, who is head of the Batam Immigration Office's information and communication section, told The Jakarta Post on Thursday.

"Thank you for the information given. We apologise for the inconvenience." 

Meanwhile, Batam Immigration Office head Hajar Aswad said on the same day that should breaches be found, wrong-doers would be brought to task. 

"Batam Immigration Office is committed to zero tolerance of any form of illegal levies and will follow up all suspected violations in an objective and professional way," he reportedly said.

On Wednesday, online portal Mothership reported that two separate groups of travellers were allegedly told to pay immigration officers at Batam Centre International Ferry Terminal up to $250 in "fees" or be turned back to Singapore.

The travellers were purportedly given reasons such as visa issues, or being "disrespectful" for crossing a railing.

The report recounted the experience of Singaporeans AC and his partner who were led to an interrogation room on March 13. 

"The officer yelled, confiscated phones, intimidated, and demanded a fine of $100 per person," AC told Mothership, adding that the officer threatened to detain them overnight and deport them to Singapore the next day.

AC said he gave in after two hours and paid the "fine" in cash, which the officer allegedly added to a stack under a keyboard. He added that he saw other foreigners from Malaysia, China, the Philippines and Bangladesh in a similar predicament. 

The report also recounted a Myanmar man who works in Singapore, Nay, who went to Batam with his parents on March 14. 

While Nay cleared immigration, his parents were held back and Nay was purportedly asked to pay cash for each parent due to apparent issues with their Malaysian visas. He said he negotiated the sum down from $300 to $250. 

"The casually-dressed guy said S$200 for immigration officers and S$50 for himself," Nay was quoted saying. He has since submitted feedback to Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission.

Several reviews on Google Maps and Tripadvisor.com show similar incidents experienced by foreigners, with the oldest report published in October 2015.

The Jakarta Post reported that there have also been extortion attempts by Batam immigration officers on Indonesians, such as those travelling to Malaysia for work, who have been asked to pay between 150,000 rupiah ($11.40) and 250,000 rupiah. 

Errant officers would allegedly direct passengers heading to Malaysia away from autogates and towards manual counters.

Batam Immigration Office's Kharisma urged the public to report violations through official channels: via e-mail to [email protected], WhatsApp at +62 811-7002-019, or Instagram direct message to @imigrasibatam.

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