Five customs officers held by residents after inspection dispute
Detained officers released after mediation, with customs officials agreeing to a Rp 655 million customary settlement.
On Monday afternoon, residents in Bengkayang regency, West Kalimantan, forcibly detained five customs officers at the Aruk State Border Crossing Post, near the Malaysia border. The incident arose from a disagreement over baggage inspections. After completing immigration checks, three of the travelers refused to allow the inspections, causing a dispute with the customs officials.
The three individuals abandoned their journey to Malaysia and left the border facility. Later that evening, a group of around 100 residents gathered outside the border post, seeking the detained officers. At approximately 7:45 p.m., the group forcibly removed the five customs officials and transported them to Bengkayang regency, a distance of about 100 kilometers.
Circulating videos on social media allegedly depicted one officer being stripped and assaulted by the crowd, although the authenticity of the footage could not be independently confirmed by The Jakarta Post. Following mediation, the detained officers agreed to a Rp 655 million (US$36,000) customary settlement with the local residents.
Written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
