19 foreigners to be questioned

YOGYAKARTA: The 19 foreigners who swam ashore Saturday after jumping from a deserted boat were transported yesterday to Jakarta for further questioning at the central immigration office.

They boarded a bus bound for Jakarta yesterday morning.

The head of Yogyakarta Immigration Office, Yusuf Hadi, expressed his suspicion about the 19 foreigners, saying they had refused to provide a reasonable explanation about their identity during questioning.

"When we examined them yesterday (Sunday) they refused to reveal their identity. They only said their documents had been lost," Yusuf said. "It seems that they are hiding something."

"And they always refuse when we offer to put them in contact with their embassy ... Instead they asked to be taken to Australia. But when we asked them why Australia they refused to answer."

The group swam from the boat to Glagah Beach, 45 kilometers from Yogyakarta, after they jumped off their ship, which had been abandoned by the crew.

According to the six crew members, five of whom are being questioned by police, the foreigners tried to force them to sail to Australia's Christmas Island after initially being hired to sail on a pleasure cruise around the Pelabuhan Ratu area.

Sources here said the group consisted of 11 French nationals, three Italians, two Afghans, a Belgian, an Algerian and a Swiss citizen. (23)