Migrant worker's

Migrant worker's extortion claim

From Media Indonesia

Two Indonesian labor recruitment companies, PT Hasta Insan Perkasa and PT Duta Fajar Barutama, both domiciled in Jakarta, sent me to work in Taiwan and I paid them a placement fee of some Rp 20 million. Unfortunately, the two companies manipulated the result of my health test at Li Shin Hospital in Taiwan and used it as a reason to force me to return to Indonesia without a refund.

I complained to the manpower and transmigration minister about this fraudulent behavior and on March 12, 2003, I signed an agreement with these companies in the presence of a staff member of the ministry's directorate general of development and placement of migrant workers, who mediated our meeting. Afterwards, the labor recruitment companies violated the agreement but, absurdly, for the ministry, the matter was considered closed.

Dissatisfied, I reported the health test result manipulation to Taiwanese manpower and health ministers and also to the Taiwan police chief. The Taiwanese manpower ministry issued a letter dated Feb. 26, 2004, saying that this case was being handled by the Taiwanese health minister.

Then, Tao Yuan carried out a reexamination of my health status at Li Shin Hospital and gave the result, on June 18, 2003, to the Indonesian Chamber of Trade and the Economy (KDEI) in Taipei, to be forwarded to me. Inexplicably, the KDEI has not forwarded this result to me.

I suspect that this is an organized case of fraud and extortion because all parties involved do not seem to be willing to resolve the matter properly. Strangely, the photocopy of the laboratory test as part of my health check does not bear my name. HASAN Bandung