The Bogor Regency Police have detained 38 miners from China for reportedly failing to show their immigration documents.

“The detention of [workers] of mining company PT BCMG Tani Berkah in Banyu Wangi village, Cigudeg, West Java, started after [investigations into] a motorcycle robbery case on July 28,” Sr. Comr. Yayan Sopyan of the Cigudeg Police said on Thursday.

The motorcycle case was launched following a report from a neighborhood resident about a foreign worker who used a motorcycle that was allegedly bought from someone involved in vehicle theft.

The police then investigated whether the foreign worker and his fellow countrymen held official immigration documents that allowed them to live and work in a 103-hectare mining area in Cigudeg.

Yayan explained that the mining firm had an official business permit and owned the workers’ dormitory where the 38 Chinese blue-collar and white-collar workers stayed.

The foreign workers said that their immigration documents were kept by the company at its headquarters in Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) in North Jakarta.

“We have regulations on foreigner oversight in Indonesia. Those who do not hold official documents are detained until they can show the documents,” he said.

The foreign workers were sent to the Bogor Regency Police office and will face investigation by the foreigner oversight unit.

Officers found difficulties in gathering information from the workers because of a language barrier, Yayan said. The police are working with the immigration office to resolve the case. (dra)