In a typical case, an Australian woman was stopped by authorities at Bali airport and asked to pay $1000 (over Rs 82,000) for an unacceptable “dirty” passport. The woman, Monique Sutherland, was allegedly ripped off by border staff while she was traveling to the Indonesian country with her 60-year-old mother.
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- The woman was pulled away by Australian airport staff
- Things went wrong after her arrival in Bali
The woman was pulled away by Australian airport staff
news 7
The mother-daughter duo were heading to Bali together for a “much-needed” vacation. Things started to get dusty when the duo checked in at the Batik Air counter at Tullamarine Airport, Australia. Staff pulled the 28-year-old aside and questioned her about the status of her passport.
she reported 7 News, “They forced me to sign an additional blue form, which they told me I had to show every time I showed my passport.” She says it was because her passport was a bit dirty, since she was seven years old.
Once she got her papers in order and cleared immigration, the mother and daughter were finally able to board the plane to Bali, arriving in the country in just over six hours.
Things went wrong after her arrival in Bali
Unsplash
Arriving in Bali, things quickly escalated when her blue note was noticed by airport staff. The ‘petrified’ Melbourne woman was taken away from her and escorted to the interrogation room, where she claims she was interrogated for over an hour.
Sutherland said staff began speaking Indonesian and laughing at her before accusing her of breaking the law and traveling with a damaged passport. “They told me they could fix the problem for a fee of $1,000,” she explained. She was also told that if she did not pay, they would not return her passport.
Sutherland, who recently became unemployed, stood her ground and refused to pay the fee. But the staff then approached her elderly mother and tried to convince her to pay the fee if they wanted her passport back.
Ultimately, the family paid the $1,000 fee and was allowed to continue their vacation.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn