Extortion Of Tourist Fast Track Service At Ngurah Rai Airport Reaches IDR 6 Million/Day

DENPASAR - Head of the Legal Information Section (Kasi Penkum) of the Bali High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati), Putu Agus Eka Sabana Putra, said that illegal levies (extortion) for tourist fast track services at the International Terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Airport, Bali, could reach around IDR 5-6 million per day.

From the evidence and statements of witnesses, extortion for fast track services per month can reach Rp. 100 to Rp. 200 million.

However, the amount of extortion depends on the large number of foreign tourists using the fast track service.

"From the evidence and witness statements, Rp. 100 and Rp. 200 million per month are obtained and it depends on the busy hours of flights. On a daily basis, it is around Rp. 5 (up to) Rp. 6 million, the nominal value. But this is not standard and what is obtained also varies," said Agus Eka Sabana, Thursday, October 16.

Per tourist is levy of illegal contributions starting from Rp. 100-250 thousand to use fast track services. At Ngurah Rai there are two gates used for fast track services.

According to him, Immigration officers attract extortion for foreign tourists so they don't go through the queue. They are directed to fast track services commonly used by pregnant women, disabled people and the elderly and children who should be free.

"What is misused is foreign nationals who use economic class and queue with other passengers. It is misused, by being diverted to this special gate, specifically for pregnant women, people with disabilities, or the elderly, it is diverted to the gate," he said.

The Bali High Prosecutor's Office (Kejati) has named a suspect in the Ngurah Rai Immigration official in the alleged illegal levies (extortion) to foreign nationals (WNA) with fast track services at the Bali I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport terminal.

The official who was named a suspect with the initials HS, Head of the Examination Section I of the Special Class I Immigration Office of TPI Ngurah Rai, Bali.

Head of the Legal Information Section (Kasi Penkum) of the Bali Prosecutor's Office, Putu Agus Eka Sabana Putra, said that based on the results of the investigation carried out by the special criminal investigation team of the Bali Attorney General's Office, two pieces of evidence were obtained in the form of witness statements, letter evidence and evidence as well as evidence of clues.

"That HS Head of the Investigation Section I of the Special Class I Immigration Office of TPI Ngurah Rai was named a suspect based on the suspect determination letter Number: 1421/N.1.5/Fd.2/11/2023 dated November 15, 2023," said Agus Eka, Wednesday, November 15.

The suspect as a civil servant receives gifts or promises to move him to do something or not in his position that is contrary to his obligations.

The suspect was charged with Article 12 letter a in conjunction with Article 12 letter b of the Corruption Eradication Law in conjunction with Article 64 of the Criminal Code.

"Then investigators detained the suspect HS for 20 days based on the Detention Order Number: 1422/N.1.5/Fd.2/11/2023 dated November 15, 2023 at the Denpasar Kerobokan Prison Detention Center," he said.

Meanwhile, for the other four Ngurah Rai Immigration officers who were also secured by the Bali Attorney General's Office, their status is still valid.