Two foreign nationals – a Syrian and a Ukrainian – were recently arrested for having forged documents in order to obtain Indonesian ID cards (KTP).
The 31-year-old Syrian man is identified by his initials MZ, while the Ukrainian man is known as WN, 27.
MZ was arrested in February while WN was arrested at a villa in Kuta earlier this month. Both were caught with KTPs during a random search by immigration officials.
“We are working with the police and the prosecutors to get to the bottom of this,” said Anggiat Napitulu, who heads the Bali Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights.
Initially, it was unclear whether the KTPs that belonged to the two foreigners were legit or not.
The Head of the Denpasar Agency of Population and Civil Registry (Dukcapil), Dewa Gde Juli Artabrata, confirmed that the two men applied for the ID cards online using fake documents.
Nonetheless, the KTPs were officially issued.
“This is official. The application [for the KTP] followed the procedures with all requirements met but the statements were all forged, including the names,” he told Kumparan.
The Syrian man used the fake Indonesian name Agung Nizar Santoso in the KTP, while the Ukrainian identified himself as Alexander Nur Rudi.
Though they made separate applications, Artabrata confirmed that the two foreigners noted down the same guarantor: a man named Ketut Sutayer. Officials are still investigating his identity.
Artabrata said that the KTPs have been revoked. He noted that his agency aims to be more diligent in the future to avoid another oversight.
Separately, the Head of the Immigration Affairs of the Bali Office of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, Barron Ichsan, said that MZ and WN are still in detention as the authorities are establishing their motives.
In addition to KTPs, MZ and WN reportedly also each owned a Family Card (KK) and local ATM cards, and that they were in the process of applying for tax identification numbers (NPWP).
