Pursuant to Article 126, letter C of Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration, (if found guilty), the suspect could be sentenced to up to five years in jail and fined up to Rp500 million.
Pekanbaru, Riau (ANTARA) - Immigration authorities in Riau Province have arrested a Myanmar asylum seeker for falsifying documents to apply for an Indonesian passport, a spokesman stated.

The suspect, identified by his initials as YNM, was arrested at the immigration checkpoint at the Bagansiapiapi Immigration Office in Riau on June 2, Chief of the Riau Provincial Office of the Law and Human Rights Ministry Mhd Jahari Sitepu noted in Pekanbaru on Sunday.

"We managed to arrest the Myanmar citizen while applying for a passport. The suspect attached Indonesian demographic documents (to the application form), including residence identification card (KTP), family card (KK), birth certificate, and marriage certificates. All the documents are not valid or false," he remarked.

Sitepu said the Myanmar citizen held a document issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Office in Malaysia stating that he is an asylum seeker from Myanmar.

The suspect is being held in custody at the Bagansiapiapi correctional facility for 20 days from June 23 to July 12, 2022.

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Chief of the Bagansiapiapi Immigration Office Agus Susdamajanto remarked that the Myanmar citizen was arrested on June 2, 2022, on charges of falsifying documents to apply for an Indonesian passport.

"Pursuant to Article 126, letter C of Law No. 6 of 2011 on Immigration, (if found guilty), the suspect could be sentenced to up to five years in jail and fined up to Rp500 million," he remarked.

The suspect, who has stayed in Kepenghuluan Raja Bejamu, Sinaboi Sub-district, Rokan Hilir District, since 2020, is married and has a child.

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Translator: Frislidia, Suharto
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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