37 Indonesian Citizens Whose Passports Are Detained In Laos Have Been Returned To Indonesia

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that 37 out of a total of 45 Indonesian citizens (WNI) whose passports were detained by companies in Bokeo, Laos, had been returned to the country.

The Director of Protection for Indonesian Citizens and BHI of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Judha Nugraha, explained that the return of dozens of Indonesian citizens from Laos via the Tokyo Rai route, Thailand, could be carried out immediately because their visa was still valid.

"Meanwhile, the other eight Indonesian citizens have not been able to leave Laos because their passports are still being held by the company," Judha said as quoted by ANTARA, Monday, May 29.

The government through the Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane has coordinated with the Bokeo Police to take the passports of Indonesian citizens detained by the company, as well as enforce the law in accordance with the regulations in force in Laos.

This case stems from a complaint by an Indonesian citizen with the initials MNH who asked for government assistance because of his passport, along with the passports of dozens of other Indonesian workers, detained by a company in Laos.

In fact, referring to MNH's uploads on social media, he said that he and the other workers had left the company they worked for.

The Indonesian Embassy in Vientiane immediately responded to the report by sending a request for assistance to the Bakeo Police to take the passports of Indonesian citizens.

This case is a development of a previous report that stated that a number of Indonesian citizens were detained after they stopped working as online scammers (suspenders of information and communication technology-based fraud) in the company operating at the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone in Laos.