Aussies tourists warned about scam at Bali airport after immigration officers are arrested
Australians heading to Bali are being warned about an alleged scam that involves tourists paying to use the airport’s express service, which is supposed to be free.
Indonesian officials arrested five immigration officials at Ngurah Rai International Airport on Tuesday after complaints that they were abusing the priority arrival lane.
Immigration officials are accused of allowing tourists to use the priority arrival lane in exchange for cash.
Tourists had to pay between 100,000 and 250,000 rupiah – between AUD$10 and AUD$25 – per person to get through the airport quickly.
The service, which is free, is aimed at helping people who need extra help while travelling, including the elderly and pregnant women.
Australians heading to Bali (pictured) are being warned about an alleged scam that involves tourists paying to use the airport’s express service
Assistant for Special Crimes at the Bali High Court, Deddy Koerniawan, said authorities were alerted to the alleged scam following complaints from the public.
‘This started with complaints from the public about misuse of fast-track facilities. That’s why we went to the field and checked the field,” Koerniawan said The Bali sun.
“Expedited services are free for priorities such as the elderly and pregnant women. However, foreigners using the expedited facility will be charged.
Mr Koerniawan explained that there was an incident of accelerated charges worth R100-200 million per month.
“From this assurance, the Public Prosecution Service managed to secure funds worth IDR 100 million ($10,000),” Koerniawan said.
“These profits are obviously illegal and could damage the image of Bandra International Ngurah Rai.”
Authorities have advised tourists arriving in Bali not to pay for priority services and urged them to report it to police if airport staff offer to quickly track them for cash.
In 2019, Bali airport officials signed an agreement declaring Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport a “corruption-free zone.”
A statement on Bali Airport’s website regarding claims that the government agency is committed to achieving a corruption-free zone by improving the quality of public services through structuring governance, structuring HR management systems, strengthening supervision and strengthening performance accountability.’
Indonesian officials arrested five immigration officers at Ngurah Rai International Airport (pictured) for allegedly charging arriving tourists to use the priority lane to speed them through the airport
It comes after an Australian tourist in Bali warned fellow travelers about using ATMs on the island.
The traveler shared a photo exposing the scam to a popular Facebook group for Australians heading to the holiday hotspot.
The photo showed a Commonwealth Bank ATM in a supermarket in Seminyak – a beach resort on the south side of Bali, with a handwritten ‘broken’ sign above the machine’s card slot.
The sign is intended to deter tourists from using the ATM and instead using another one nearby, which is equipped with a suspected card-skimming device.
“Just a heads up, a man wearing a purple shirt keeps putting a ‘broken’ sign on the Commonwealth Bank ATM at Bintang Supermarket,” the man wrote.
“Three or four people came by and went to the next ATM, but I told them the ATM was fine so they could use the Commbank one.”
“The guy kept looking at me like he was angry, and as soon as I walked away I saw him put another sign on it,” the concerned traveler wrote.