Visa-free facility is provided by the Indonesian government to boost the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia."Timika (ANTARA News) - The Timika immigration office has deported four Chinese nationals who were working in a mining company in Central Mimika Barat sub-district without a working permit.
Muhamad Adnan, head of the Tembagapura Timika immigration office, said here on Friday that the foreign citizens were Ding Pu Fa (49), Huang Jianxin (47), Lyu Changfa (50) and Li Longzhu (36).
They were detained as they were about to take a boat to Pronggo on Thursday. Pronggo is not a tourist destination but an ore-mining area.
The arrest was part of an operation simultaneously organized by immigration offices against any foreigners violating their staying permits throughout Indonesia.
The local immigration office has received tips off from local villagers regarding the presence of several foreigners in Pronggo, he said.
The Chinese men had entered Timika using the visa-free facility offered by the Indonesian government to foreign tourists from a number of countries.
"Visa-free facility is provided by the Indonesian government to boost the number of foreign tourists to Indonesia. But, the facility has been misused by those coming for work. Pronggo is not a touristic area," he said.
The immigration office is now investigating those who sponsored the four Chinese. Meanwhile the four had been deported to their country of origin through the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, Cengkareng, on Thursday.
(Reported by Evarianus Supar/Uu.F001/INE/KR-BSR)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
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