T

he Law and Human Rights Ministry cancelled the planned deportation of a US citizen living in Bali after he threatened to kill himself and his four children if he was forced to leave the country without them.

Law and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar on Wednesday sent a letter to the Bali office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry cancelling the deportation order for Eli Gatenio on compassionate grounds.

The minister added that a better solution to the problem in accordance with prevailing laws should be hammered out.

“The minister called off the deportation on compassionate grounds because Gattenio and his four daughters could not be separated,” Taswem Tarib, the head of the ministry’s Bali office, said Thursday.

Taswem said Gattenio would not be deported but should leave the country temporarily to apply for a new KITAS (temporary residence permit).

Gattenio lives with his four daughters in Seminyak following his divorce from his Indonesian wife, Sari Soraya Ruka, in May 2010.

After the divorce, he was threatened with deportation, but was unable to take his children to the US, while the Bali Immigration Agency instructed him to leave Indonesia or face deportation on March 10.

The immigration agency said Gattenio misused his immigration permit, so his KITAS was revoked.

Gattenio appealed the deportation order and had locked himself and his four daughters Indigo Lillyan, 12, Hope Elisabeth and Joy Elisabeth, both 10, and Nadia Eve, 4, inside his house since last week, keeping all doors and windows shut.

The 55-year-old man threatened to kill himself and his daughter by exploding a gas canister.

Gattenio said he had sought help from various institutions to allow him to leave the country with his children.

He said his ex-wife had taken away his immigration documents, including the children’s and his passports.

The Bali Commission for Child Protection (KPAID) earlier said Gattenio’s eldest daughter had filed a police report against their mother for abandoning them. Indigo reported the case on behalf of her siblings.

Gattenio said he was relieved his deportation order was shelved and thanked the minister.

“This is incredible. The minister has expedited the settlement of this case. We hope we can return to a normal life again,” he said.

He added that he wanted to take his children abroad on a vacation to recover from the traumatic situation, but said he was unable to do so because his children’s passports were held by their mother.

Gattenio said his next step would be to process the paperwork for his children’s birth documents and citizenship.

However, he had yet to decide whether he would stay permanently in Indonesia or move to other country.

“It is my children who decide,” he said, adding that there would be no problem with his job or his children’s school in Indonesia.