Three Koreans 'misuse' visas

JAKARTA (JP): Three South Koreans have been questioned by immigration officers for allegedly misusing their visas.

Zaiman Nurmatias, the director for supervision at the Directorate General of Immigration, said yesterday the foreigners were arrested at Kheun Sol Fashion shop in Ciledug, Tangerang, last Wednesday.

The suspects, Lee Dong Eun, 35, Yeun Kwang Soo, 38, and Ham Il Soo, 42, were caught working as shop assistants while their visas, issued by the Indonesian embassy in Seoul, allowed them to work as consultants in either government or private institutions, Zaiman said.

They were rounded up by immigration officers who posed as customers following a tipoff.

"Initially, they refused to produce their passports. They were trying to contact someone and intimidated the officers by mentioning an Armed Forces unit," he said.

Open since last October, Kheun Sol Fashion sells chiefly Korean-made wear at wholesale prices ranging from Rp 26,000 ($3.2) to Rp 211,000.

Run by PT Pinus Raya Perdana in cooperation with the Navy Primary Cooperative (Inkopal), the shop has three Indonesian employees. (pan)