Surakarta to deport 3 expats

Surakarta to deport 3 expats

Kartika Bagus C., The Jakarta Post, Surakarta, Central Java

Bangladeshi Mukhtar Khan, 26, Australian Garry John Palmer, 61,
and his seven-year-old daughter Tahani Wulandari, are awaiting
deportation for staying illegally in Surakarta.

Mukhtar who illegally entered the country through Tanjung
Balai, North Sumatra, last July has been in the local immigration
office's custody for three months for possessing no passport or
visa documentation to stay in Indonesia.

Munsya Putra Sembiring, an official at the Surakarta
immigration office, said his office had coordinated with the
Bangladeshi Embassy in Jakarta to prepare necessary documents for
Mukhtar's deportation.

Mukhtar came to Indonesia in order to marry Siti Jumaroh in
Magelang, however it was unclear where the two met.

Munsya said Palmer, who married 37-year-old Indonesian
Tamiyati in 1998, and his daughter were not allowed to stay in
Indonesia because they had no legal permission from the
Indonesian authorities to do so.

"After being deported, the two will be barred from entering
Indonesia because Palmer lied when asked about his nationality,"
he said, adding the two could have stayed in Indonesia if they
had applied to authorities for an official permit.

So far, the number of foreigners in the city has reached 345,
comprised mostly of Chinese, Indians and Japanese.