B

ali law enforcers announced on Sunday that they had begun an investigation into a Taiwanese tourist'€™s allegations that he had been blackmailed and robbed by immigration officers upon his arrival at the popular resort island.

On Saturday, Zhang Tao, 33, filed a report with the Ngurah Rai International Airport Police after he and his five friends, arriving from Guangzhou, China, at the airport shortly after midnight, were asked by an officer at the immigration desk for cash in exchange for stamping their passports.

In his report, Tao also accused the same immigration officer, along with a colleague, of taking US$2,200 in cash from his bag after a confrontation in the airport'€™s car park several hours later.

Responding to the report on Sunday, Ngurah Rai airport Police chief Comr. Orpa Sari said that the police had questioned several people, including the victim and several immigration officers, about the allegations.

The police, Orpa said, had also watched CCTV footage to collect supporting evidence. The provisional investigation, she said, had confirmed that two immigration officers, one wearing a black jacket and the other wearing a red jacket, had confronted Tao.

'€œThe 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,'€ she said.

Tao and his friends arrived on Saturday at 12:10 a.m. at Ngurah Rai aboard China Southern Airlines flight CZ 3005.

Tao, in his police report, claimed that the group had been asked by an immigration officer to pay 500 RMB ($78.4) to get their passports stamped, and that he had paid 200 RMB.

According to the report, a few hours later, at around 3 a.m., the same immigration officer approached Tao, who was waiting to be picked up from the airport'€™s pick-up zone, and, grabbing him by the neck, marched him to the parking area.

Tao reportedly escaped from the officer, but was manhandled into a toilet by a second officer wearing a black jacket. The officer in red, meanwhile, took Tao'€™s bag.

The victim'€™s shouts attracted his friends, who came to release him.

Soon after leaving the airport, Tao found that he had lost $2,200 in cash, only $800 dollars remaining of $3000 dollars that had been in the bag.

Orpa said the investigation into the case would be continued by the Denpasar Police to ensure neutrality.

Separately, Denpasar Police'€™s general crimes unit head Comr. Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan confirmed that the force would take over the case.

'€œTomorrow [Monday], we will hold a case expose to look into the case,'€ Reinhard said.

Also on Sunday, the Law and Human Rights Ministry'€™s director general of immigration, Ronny F. Sompie, visited Ngurah Rai, one of the country'€™s busiest airports. Ronny reportedly met with immigration officers at the airport to discuss the case, before leaving the airport without talking to the media.

The Bali tourist office revealed that 3.76 million foreign tourists visited the island in 2014, an increase of 14.94 percent from 3.27 million tourists recorded in 2013.

Earlier this month, the Bali Police named 12 police personnel, including Kuta Police chief Comr. Deddy Januartha, suspects in a case of extortion against a group of Australian tourists in February. The 12 are all to appear before ethics tribunals