Fooled By The Bodong Agency, Belgian Citizen Overstays 55 Days In Bali

DENPASAR - A man from Belgium with the initials RFM (23) suffered a unfortunate fate because he was deceived by a fake alias fraudulent agency, finally the foreigner overstayed for decades on the island of Bali. He was also deported by Immigration Bali.

Head of Immigration Detention Center (Rudenim) Denpasar Gede Dudy Duwita said RFM violated Article 78 paragraph (2) of Law Number 6 of 2011 concerning Immigration due to overstay of 55 days.

"The person concerned came alone to Indonesia in June 2024 through I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali, using Visa On Arrival (VOA) which is valid for 30 days. He came with the aim of exploring Bali and taking a vacation," said Dudy, Wednesday, November 6.

Initially, on Friday (4/10) at 02.00 WITA, this foreigner came to the Immigration Checkpoint Departure (TPI) I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport.

At that time, he was about to leave Indonesian territory, and was questioned by immigration counter officers who suspected evidence of extending the residence permit for visits that were handed over were fake.

Then, based on the valid residence permit, the validity period of the RFM residence permit should end on August 11, 2024. However, the documents he attached showed an expiration date until October 11, 2024. Based on these findings, officers at TPI decided to postpone the departure of the RFM.

From his statement, initially this foreigner experienced problems related to his residence permit and realized that his residence permit ended on July 11, 2024.

He also accidentally met and chatted with a man with the initials P at the inn where he lived in the Legian area, Kuta District, Badung Regency, Bali.

Finally, the man with the initials P escorted RFM to a place such as the agency office located in Seminyak, Kuta, which is claimed to be able to help with stay permit matters.

Without checking the validity of the agency's office, RFM also discussed his needs regarding the extension of the residence permit.

It was agreed that the agency agreed to an RFM request to extend its residence permit for 3 months with a service fee of Rp. 6,300,000, - which has been paid by RFM.

However, after a few days, the man with the initials P delivered a piece of paper which was claimed to be an extension of the RFM residence permit.

RFM later realized that he was experiencing fraud, the process of extending the residence permit he was doing at the agency was not as expected.

In addition, during an inspection by the Immigration Office Officer Class I TPI Special for Ngurah Rai, he admitted that he had never come to the immigration office to seek information regarding residence permits and had exceeded the residence permit for 55 days.

He was deported via I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport on Wednesday (6/11) with the final destination of Brussels under tight guard by Denpasar Rudenim officers, to ensure his repatriation process runs smoothly without any problems.

Dudy emphasized the importance of firm action against immigration violations like this.

"We will not compromise with violations of residence permits by foreign nationals. Enforcement of immigration rules is a priority to maintain order and security, especially in Bali as an international tourist area," said Dudy.