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Immigration office deports Japanese national suspected of COVID-19 fraud in Japan
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(Courtesy of Directorate General of Immigration)
D
irectorate General of Immigration deported on Wednesday a 48-year-old Japanese citizen and a suspect in a COVID-19 social assistance fraud case in Japan.
Detention and deportation coordinator Douglas Simamora said the suspect, identified as MT, had violated Article 75 of Law No. 6/2011 for allegedly endangering public security and order, and failing to respect and obey the country’s laws and regulations.
"The individual in question was deported as he did not have a stay permit. His passport had been revoked by the Japanese government," he explained.
MT is known to have entered Indonesia in 2020 with a limited stay visa for investors. His last temporary stay permit (KITAS) was issued by the South Jakarta Class I Special Checkpoint Immigration Office on April 19, 2021, which is valid until June 17, 2023.
Douglas added that upon MT’s repatriation, he was immediately put on Indonesia’s deterrence list and would not be allowed to reenter Indonesian territory for a certain period of time. MT was deported on Japan Airlines flight number JL720, which departed from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport heading to Narita Airport at 6.35 a.m.
On June 7, Directorate General of Immigration received information from representatives of the Japanese Embassy in Indonesia who were looking for a citizen with the initials MT being the perpetrator of fraud related to COVID-19 social assistance from the Japanese government.
During a data check, MT was found to still be actively operating in Indonesia. Information from intelligence sources said MT was strongly suspected of being in Lampung.
The Japanese Embassy then submitted a request for assistance to Directorate General of Immigration to find and repatriate MT through the immigration mechanism, which was made possible as MT’s passport had been revoked by the Japanese government. MT was then included in the immigration most wanted list (DPOK) on June 7.
Directorate General of Immigration through the Lampung Immigration Office was able to track down MT’s whereabouts by coordinating with village supervisory noncommissioned officers (Babinsa), village-level security and public order advisors (Babinkamtibmas), the police and local village officials. Security measures were planned to ensure that the person concerned did not escape.
After being detained, MT was taken to the Immigration Supervision and Enforcement Directorate. Accompanied by officers from the Lampung Immigration Office, MT arrived on June 8 and was placed in detention to await his repatriation process following an interrogation.
