A man from New Zealand, identified by the Bogor Immigration Office by his initials JCC, has been deported from Indonesia after he was found naked and unconscious in the city’s botanical gardens on Tuesday morning.
After being found by security guards and then examined by the police (who had previously identified him as JS), the 28-year-old was handed over to the local immigration authorities on Wednesday so that they could check his immigration status.
After checking out his documents, officials found that JCC was legally in the country on a tourist visa. He had entered Indonesia on July 1 and spent some time in Bali before traveling to Bogor on July 11.
Although his tourist visa checked out, Bogor Immigration head Arif Hazairin Sutoto said JCC would be deported on Thursday for illegally breaking into the botanical gardens and disturbing public order
“This is considered a violation of his immigration status,” Arif said on Wednesday as quoted by Tempo.
Although being deported certainly isn’t great, it could’ve been much worse for JCC if police had decided to prosecute him for criminal actions (his tourist visa was set to expire on July 30 anyways).
The guards who found JCC on Tuesday morning said he was naked and unconscious underneath a large tree when they came upon him.
Upon awakening, the New Zealander told the guards that he had impulsively jumped over the park’s fence at around 10 pm the previous night with the goal of meditating under a large tree.
The guards said JCC claimed to have heard a voice whisper to him that he could fly if he removed all of his clothing. So he got naked and started meditating, until he apparently climbed up the tree and jumped off in an attempt to fly, instead landing on the ground where he apparently lay unconscious until the guards found him the next morning.
After telling his tale to the guards, JCC was taken to the Bogor Police station.
“So based on the relevant information, he entered the botanical garden last night illegally without buying a ticket by jumping over the fence next to Bhinneka Park,” said Syarief Hidayat on Tuesday as quoted by Jawa Pos.
Unsurprisingly, the police thought drugs might have had something to do with JCC’s naked flying attempt, but Syarief said they had given him a urine test and found no signs that he had been using drugs or alcohol.
Police mentioned that JCC had recently lost his parents and had come to Bogor looking for peace, with plans to study at the Dhamma Java Vipassana Meditation Centre in Gunung Geulis, Bogor.
After the police were finished examining him, JCC was handed over to the local immigration authorities. He was deported back to New Zealand yesterday. apparently without further incident.
