Police May Deport 34 Chinese Nationals

Surabaya, East Java - Surabaya police may have to deport 34 Chinese nationals allegedly involved in criminal activities. "We can always repatriate them, but we are still waiting for the outcome of our further verification and still need their testimonies. They are currently still under questioning," Surabaya chief police detective Adjunct Senior Commissioner Indarto said at his office here Tuesday. The main reason for the deportation of the 34 Chinese nationals was fresh findings, namely that the fraud victims are not Indonesians, but Chinese and Taiwanese, especially government officials. Indarto said the fraud indications in these cases have become stronger. They resorted to extortion of Chinese officials suspected of involvement in corruption. In China corrupters face heavy penalties, including death by hanging, he said. So if a suspect would not like to have his case exposed, the officials must send money to a bank account by transfer. "But everything still need to be verified properly, especially that the investigating officers are usually facing language problems. Many of them even did not speak English. Everything needs further verification," the University of Indonesia graduate said. In the meantime, his side is also still after people facilitating and sponsoring the 34 Chinese to Indonesia. Although they already managed to secure some of their identities and names, the investigators still have problems in catching them. The Surabaya police has arrested 34 Chinese nationals from five fancy houses in Surabaya.