Singaporeans detained for visa violations

Fadli, The Jakarta Post, Batam

Batam police arrested and detained on Wednesday three Singaporean nationals for alleged visa violations, a senior police officer disclosed on Saturday.

The three businessmen, who are still in detention, had actually acquired social visit visas from the Indonesian government, but they were apparently violating the terms of the visa and were working in other areas not stipulated in their visas, said Comr. Ibrahim Tompo, a senior police officer at the Barelang police in Batam, Riau Islands.

The three businessmen were still being questioned over the weekend by police investigators, said Ibrahim.

The social visit permit, which expires after 14 days, applies to both Indonesians or Singaporeans who visit each other's countries.

Separately, chief of Batam Immigration Office I Gede Widiharta confirmed on the same day that the three people had been detained for permit violations.

The three -- Goh Sin Chiang, Lee Soon Kiang and Goh Joo Koon -- arrived in the city on Wednesday at the Batam Center International seaport and shortly thereafter chaired a meeting held by a company in central Batam. "They have no right whatsoever to work in Batam as they don't have adequate work documents," said Widiharta.

According to earlier statements, the three revealed that they were merely shareholders of a company in Batam, but they were not active shareholders so they were not informed of immigration procedures on Batam, said Widiharta.