Within one day, 149 Chinese citizens were arrested by the police in Sidoarjo, East Java; Jakarta; and Badung, Bali. This was not the first arrest.
According to Kompas records, arrests of Chinese citizens in Indonesia who were suspected of committing crimes happened in 2012. They allegedly committed fraud, along with Taiwanese citizens, against other Chinese citizens, through phone calls using the voice over IP network.
Five years ago, it was estimated there were 15 operational locations of the syndicates in Jakarta and Tangerang, Banten. During three years of operations in Indonesia, with the target of Chinese citizens, they were believed to have collected about Rp 7.9 trillion. Since the arrests in 2012, every year there have been similar incidents in which Chinese and Taiwanese citizens were caught for alleged involvement in cybercrime. These syndicates generally operate in big cities and live in luxury housing.
These syndicates commit their crimes by looking into the financial profiles of potential victims, then creating issues as if they were involved in crimes. The potential victims are then frightened, because there are members of the syndicates who pretend to be law enforcers, ordering the victims to give them money in order to be “freed” from the legal case.
The rise of fraud against Chinese citizens, with crime occurring in Indonesia or other countries, cannot be separated from the prosperity now enjoyed by the Chinese people. China\'s per capita income in 2016 was estimated at US$14,190. The Central Statistics Agency estimates that the per capita income of the Indonesian people is $3,605. Law enforcement in China is also known as strict. China limits the use of the internet, so citizens wanting to use it to commit crimes are forced to base their operations in other countries.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla acknowledged that crimes by foreigners against other foreigners may have been occurring in this country. Indonesia has become a place for people to commit criminal acts for various reasons. Moreover, Indonesia is never deserted of foreign tourists.
China, in accordance with Presidential Regulation No. 21 of 2016, is not included in the 169 countries granted the free visa for visits to Indonesia. However, it is not difficult for the Chinese citizens to obtain visit visas because Indonesia is open and there are many Chinese people who visit as tourists.
It is time for the government to be more careful in issuing visas, especially for citizens of countries with poor records. The public should also raise awareness, including against foreigners, because it is impossible to expect the police to do the monitoring alone. If not, Indonesia will be used as a place to commit crimes.