The Batam Immigration Office has included three Singaporean military

personnel on its list of people barred from entering all areas of

Indonesia for the next six months.

The entry ban was imposed because the three Singaporean military
members could not show their passports during a passport check and
instead showed their military ID cards to authorities, an immigration
official said.

Batam Immigration Office head Teguh Prayitno said the three

Singaporean military personnel, identified as Ashok Kumar, 22,
Kanesan Gunasegaran, 22, and Sakthivel S., 23, had been deported
from Indonesia after they were arrested at a pub in Kampung Bule in
Batam, Riau Islands, early on April 23.

He said the Office later decided to include the three military personnel
on its entry ban list.

They were not infiltrators. They entered Batam legally. However, they
could not show their passports during an immigration check, saying
they left their passports at their hotel rooms, Teguh said.

Six people were arrested during the security raid at the pub on April
23, three of whom were later identified as Singaporean military
personnel. The three others were confirmed as navigation school
students.

Teguh said the three Singaporean military personnel were deported

after a 24-hour questioning session at the Batam Immigration Office.

During the April 23 operation, immigration officials netted 72 people,

including 40 Indonesian citizens who could not show their resident
identity cards. Meanwhile, 32 foreigners were arrested for failing to
show either their passports or visas. (ebf)