4 Immigration Officers in Batam Dismissed Temporarily and Put Under Investigation

Batam, KORANTRANSAKSI.com – The Directorate General of Immigration has temporarily dismissed four officials within Immigration Class I TPI Batam following an alleged case of extortion (“pungli”) targeting foreign tourists at the Batam Center International Port.

In this regard, the Head of the Regional Office of the Directorate General of Immigration for the Riau Islands, Ujo Sutojo, stated that, “Everything is a decision from the center, to improve the organization. The leadership at the center is genuinely implementing this policy,” he said.

The four officials temporarily removed from their posts include the Head of the Batam Immigration Office, Hajar Aswad, as well as officials at the level of heads of divisions, heads of sections, and supervisors.

Further, Ujo explained that the dismissals are temporary because the officials have been reassigned to duties at the central office. “It is only temporary because they are being pulled in for assignments at the center. In addition, they will also undergo an investigation by the Internal Compliance of the Directorate General of Immigration,” he said.

He added that, for the time being, organizational coordination will be taken over by the Directorate General of Immigration for the Riau Islands until a further decision is issued.

The case came to public attention after a viral account from a foreign national from Singapore with the initials AC and NAY, which was also reported in Singapore media. The alleged extortion was carried out by an officer with the initials JS, who was on duty at the Batam Center International Port.

Based on passenger records and CCTV footage dated March 14, 2026, NAY’s victim was reportedly made to wait for up to two hours before the suspected broker—initials AS—approached. AS then offered assistance to speed up the inspection process.

After communicating, AS met with JS to help expedite the process for entering Indonesia. From there, the victim was asked to pay 100 Singapore dollars per person. After bargaining, an agreement was reached for a payment of 250 Singapore dollars. The money was then split, with JS receiving 150 Singapore dollars and AS receiving 100 Singapore dollars. (TIM)