Singaporean arrested for immigration abuse

JAKARTA (JP): A Singaporean man has been arrested for abusing his short stay visit visa by working for a securities company in West Jakarta, an Immigration official said yesterday.

Head of immigration's control and supervision department, Zaiman Nurmatias, said the man, identified as Low Soen Sim, had worked for a firm called UOBB Securities for some time.

Low was arrested Thursday at UOBB's office on Jl. Gajah Mada, Central Jakarta.

Zaiman said Low entered the country via Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on May 29, with the short stay visa.

"The facility was given only for tourism, conventions and other social culture purpose visits. Not for work," Zaiman said.

He said the immigration office had also seized evidence which showed that Low had received wages from the company.

Low had respectively received Rp 3.1 million (US$1,270) and Rp 2.4 million for his May and June wages. He was also given an accommodation allowance of at least Rp 130,000 a night, Zaiman said.

He had signed a letter on work procedures at the securities company, which he had denied, Zaiman said.

The company's director Harjanto Tjandra told immigration officers that Low was assigned by the Singapore-based UOB Investment Research to conduct a feasibility study on mutual funds in Indonesia.

Tjandra said the results of Low's study would be used by his company.

"We provided a separate room for Low to work in at the office. But the money we gave him was not a salary, it was used to entertain our business colleagues," Tjandra said.

Zaiman said many foreigners may have abused immigration permits.

He called on companies to follow immigration procedures and arrange work permits at the Ministry for Manpower if they were to hire foreigners.

He said Low would be extradited to Singapore as soon as the immigration office completed investigations.

The office arrested 79 foreigners between January and May this year for abusing immigration permits. (cst)