6 Vietnamese expelled from Indonesia

Indonesia has deported six out of 19 Vietnamese who were detained by Jayapura Immigration Office for illegal entry on July 8, Head of Jayapura Immigration Office Giri Hariyanto said on Saturday.

The six were flown to Indonesian island resort city of Denpasar at 10:00 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Saturday, while the 13 others are still held in the office's quarantine for visa violations, he was quoted as saying by the Antara News Agency.

"On board of a Garuda Indonesia airplane, the six others flew to Denpasar Ngurah Rai airport where they would immediately return to their country at their own expenses," he said.

He added that one of the six Vietnamese is a woman who had to sell her jewelries to pay her air tickets to go back to her country.

"While the 13 others did not have money to buy air tickets home so they had to remain in the quarantine while waiting for a decision about their fate from the Vietnamese Embassy in Jakarta," Hariyanto said.

"But up to now we have yet to receive any news from their embassy concerning possible deportation. We do not have money to send them home so they have to remain in the quarantine," he added.

Hariyanto said his office had received a letter from the Australian Embassy in Jakarta stating its refusal to accept the Vietnamese who want to go to Christmas Island, Australia.

The 19 Vietnamese had earlier told the immigration office that they were heading to Christmas Island for a Christmas Celebration in Australia.

They had planned to take a boat from Merauke, Papua Island, to Christmas Island.

Of the 19 people, four have no passports, and the rest have stay permits for 30 days in Indonesia, which were issued on July 3.

Source: Xinhua