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Small detail of the passport that saw a prominent lawyer detained in Bali when he arrived for a tropical vacation, and it could happen to anyone
- What happened to the lawyer can happen to anyone
- A simple detail led to a man being held in Denpasar
A very small detail in the passport of a prominent Western Australian lawyer got him detained in Bali immediately after arriving on the Indonesian resort island.
John Hammond flew into Denpasar airport on Sunday and was going through the immigration process when suddenly there was a problem with his passport.
Perth radio station 6PR received a tip in its breakfast show rumor file that Mr Hammond was using an expired or near-expired passport.
Lawyer John Hammond (pictured) had just flown to Bali and was going through the immigration process when suddenly there was a problem with his passport.
But instead of following what someone else had said, hosts Steve Mills and Karl Langdon went straight to the source: They called Mr. Hammond.
After assuring them that he was not being held in Kerobokan or any other prison in Bali, the lawyer explained what had happened.
“I was taken to the bowels of the Denpasar airport when they told me that my passport was possibly a fake.
“I had a little tear about the size of a thumbnail, and that was the reason, I think, why they kept me safely in the back of the airport,” he said.
An Australian lawyer’s damaged passport caused him problems when he arrived in Bali. In the photo, a woman rowing a traditional boat towards the Ulun Danu Bratan Temple in Bali.
Considering how Australians like convicted drug dealer Schapelle Corby (nine years in Kerobokan) have fared in Bali, Hammock was lucky to have been held for a comparable minor incident.
“I had to read a statement acknowledging that my passport was of poor quality and/or fake,” he said. 6PR.
As any good lawyer would do, Hammond said he “tried to impress the customs officer by saying I’m a lawyer and I wouldn’t do this kind of thing.”
He couldn’t resist trying an Australian budget airline as he continued.
“They stopped sending me back on the next plane, if it was Jetstar I would have waited another four hours, but we’ll put that aside,” he said.
A simple detail in his passport led to the Perth man, John Hammond, being detained after his arrival in Bali.
Mr Hammond was eventually sacked after “he was asked to sign a statement that he would never return to Bali with a passport like that”.
With that, he was free to go and three days later he is still in Bali, something that did not seem certain after arriving with a torn passport.
The radio announcers told him that he had better say something nice in case the Balinese authorities were listening.
“If I get arrested because of the 6PR file, I’ll let you know,” Mr. Hammond said wryly.