A Taiwanese tourist alleges he was blackmailed and robbed by immigration officers at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport on Saturday.
Police announced the next day that they opened an investigation prompted by the allegations of Taiwanese citizen Zhang Tao, 33, according to the Jakarta Post.
Tao filed a report with Ngurah Rai International Airport Police that after landing in Bali from Guangzhou, China after midnight with five friends. Tao’s report apparently alleges that immigration officers demanded cash, RMB500, in exchange for stamping their passports, and he gave them RMB200.
Tao wrote in the report that the same immigration officer, accompanied by a colleague, took USD2,200 in cash from his bag at the airport parking lot several hours later during a confrontation when Tao had been waiting to be picked up, according to the Jakarta Post.
Ngurah Rai airport Police chief Comr. Orpa Sari said on Sunday that police questioned the victim and several immigration officers regarding the report, while there was also CCTV footage for supporting evidence.
“The faces of the two officers and the victim are clearly visible. However, we are still investigating the case and have yet to come to any conclusions,” Sari said, as quoted by the Jakarta Post.
Orpa says the investigation would be turned over to Denpasar Police to keep it unbiased.
Photo: skyscapercity.com
