71 Immigration Employees Deactivated Due To The Case Of Extortion Of Chinese Foreigners

Minister of Immigration and Corrections (Imipas) Agus Andrianto/ANTARA

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Immigration and Corrections (Imipas) has disabled 71 immigration employees at Soekarno-Hatta Airport (Soetta) due to illegal levies (extortion) carried out on foreign nationals (foreigners) from China.

"For this incident, per day, 71 employees have been deactivated," said Minister Imipas Agus Andrianto in a working meeting with Commission XIII as reported by ANTARA, Wednesday, February 19.

This number, he said, consisted of one former office head, one former field head, one field head, five inspections, 23 supervisory officers and 40 counter officers.

"As for the Head of the Soekarno-Hatta Immigration Office) at that time we had just handed over the position on January 21," he said.

Currently, employees who are disabled are still undergoing examination by the Directorate General of Internal Compliance and Inspectorate General of the Ministry of Immigration and Corrections.

"Furthermore, they will receive sanctions in accordance with applicable regulations," he said.

At first, the case of extortion against foreigners from China was revealed after the Chinese Embassy sent a diplomatic note on January 21, 2025, containing allegations of extortion by immigration officers at Soekarno-Hatta Airport from February 2024 to January 2025.

Based on the results of checking the crossing data of Chinese foreigners as noted in the diplomatic note, it was found that 39 immigration officers were tasked with checking immigration documents for Chinese foreigners.

The diplomatic note also stated that during that period 44 cases of extortion had occurred against 60 Chinese nationals, and there had been a total refund of Rp32,750,000.

"And it's true, there have been incidents of extortion against 60 Chinese citizens and they have returned to each other," he said.

Therefore, his party carried out a strict investigation and action against immigration employees at Soetta Airport who carried out the extortion.

His party also made preventive measures so that similar incidents would not be repeated, one of which was by optimizing the use of the auto gate at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, which now amounts to 98auto gates.

"And reduce the number of contact officers, from 50 counters to 15 counters, both at arrival and departure terminals," he said.