Two foreigners arrested in Riau

Two foreigners arrested in Riau

BATAM, Riau: The police in Tanjung Pinang on Bintan island
arrested on Friday a Malaysian and a Singaporean for the
possession of counterfeit Indonesian banknotes.

Malaysian Said Abdullah bin Said Hasan, 60, and Singaporean
Syed ali bin Al Habsi, 52, were caught red-handed in possession
of the counterfeit banknotes which, had they been real, would
have been worth Rp 950,000 (US$115) when they were arrested at
Halim Hotel in the town.

Tanjung Pinang Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Widodo Eko said
that the two were arrested after the police received a tip from a
massage parlor manager, who accused the two of paying their bill
with counterfeit Rp 50,000 banknotes for services rendered by two
sex workers who were arranged by the massage parlor.

"After being checked, it is clear that the money is fake," he
said.

Widodo said that the suspects worked as security guards at a
company in Singapore and claimed they had received the phony
bills from an unidentified person in Singapore.

"We are still trying to find out exactly how much of the fake
money the two brought to Indonesia," he added. --JP