Visa violation Jakarta International School (JIS)

Just read in the Jakarta Post Online that tomorrow 20 teachers will be deported due to immigration violations.

As the report is saying, those 20 teachers had temporary stay permits (Kitas) as middle-school teachers but they were instead teaching kindergarten and elementary-school levels.....

Just found it.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014 … orted.html

And, just to really mess things up

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014 … ation.html

And, really messy

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jak … is-herpes/

13 out of 28 cleaning staff had the same virus.
The chances, if it wasn't a kiddie fiddling ring, are unlikely.
The outsourcing company and the school have some serious questions to answer.
There was talk of a second child victim in the school. I didn't follow the story to see what happened but, regardless of the truth of that one, there are very likely to be more, as yet undiscovered, victims.
There is talk, all be it reactionary, of chemical castration being on the cards.
I have to be honest, I have no objection to a firing squad castration for a man that can have sex with such a young child, boy or girl.
I speak as the father of a girl of the same age as these b'stards' victim(s).

I wonder if JIS will survive this; I'm unsure they deserve to.

Are these 2 different stories?

I agree with you mas fred, I am sure much more will come up and more victims (now 2 or 3 cases already) will appear and perhaps not only the cleaners involved....

Not sure if it is a good idea to deport them instead should investigate further....have read somewhere that one of the victim has told that 2 of guys are working inside the school, not with the outsourcing company.....

JIS will be serious trouble and one can not tell if they survive that,

in fact both stories belong together.....

That second article will certainly cause a great deal of concern all across Indonesia and in every school where foreign teachers are presently employed if indeed those teachers are prosecuted.  It will still cause a great deal of concern even if they are only deported and not prosecuted.

That concern has already started amongst those I work with and visas are being refused and stopped for teacher's with no reason already. Going to be a worrying few months ahead for many.

I have yet to hear of a visa being refused for an existing teacher.
Details would be nice.

I have been told that TBI both in th city and in Bogor have had issues getting exisiting teachers new visas forcing some teachers to leave the country or change to a different of form of visa just to remain in the country with their family.
Visa renewals have slowed down for many teachers because immigration are  checking the status of all working visas.

Three things bother me considerably in the way this is being handled assuming that the reporting by the Jakarta Post is accurate (which it usually is).

These visa violations are minor, and in the normal conduct of immigration functions, would have been overlooked.  For certain, deportation for such a minor visa violation would generally not be used, even though by law, it could be used.  For the schools I know in Bali, it is not all that unusual for a middle grade teacher to be called on to teach elementary level students, and visa versa.  This is especially common during pregnancy leaves, or short absences of teachers. 

The KPAI pushing for these teachers to be prosecuted for these minor visa violations is way, way out of the responsibilities of that agency.  Only if one or more of the teachers was accused of child abuse by one of the students would it be appropriate for them to call for prosecution, and who wouldnt agree with that demand?

JIS is a long standing international school with an excellent reputation and high academic standards.  While the authorities should unquestionably pursue any claims of child abuse at that school, be that by outside employees (the janitors) or the direct employees/teachers of JIS, those authorities should also remain aware of the educational needs of the rest of the students.  A witch hunt and mass deportation of teachers whose only crime is a very minor visa violation is cutting off ones nose to spite the face.

Even though the visa violation is minor, it is not a new thing to deal with here.

Already in the past there have been many cases same or similar like that in different industries and people have been deported.

Just one example, if your title on the name card is not conform with your status on the work permit the authorities already have reasons to deport you.

However, the teachers may not aware of it but in the case of JIS, there is no excuse because the management must know.

it's true that Immigration, Manpower and Education Ministry have been giving the international schools hard time by checking and asking documents of the teachers and expat employee. Just yesterday the Education Ministry asked the school where i work about school's document regarding to Rekom IMTA and VITAS of new teacher. this had never happened to us since our documents are complete and attached to the application. we actually have no worries for any inspection from Ministry, however this stop-and-go (renewal and new teacher document) process have been slowing us down as we also need to coordinate with the teachers who are now anxiously waiting in their country.

Teachers are told they have lehal visas and do all the things they are instructed to do to get them.  The school management will get away with this and the lives of those asked to leave are left damaged and so is the reputation of the country and hiring more people to work here.

This event completely over shadows what actually is important about JIS and that is the welfare and security of children at school who were attacked not by those being deported but by local people.

I can only hope this school closes down and that immigration review thier rules and regulations and those paid to interpret them  protect those who are actually trying to educate a nation rather than help education standards become poorer by finding technical minor errors with visas and removing people willing and happy to be here.

"Even though the visa violation is minor, it is not a new thing to deal with here.  Already in the past there have been many cases same or similar like that in different industries and people have been deported."

I'm afraid you are wrong.  The fact is, deportations from Indonesia for a minor infraction such as discussed in the second JP article are not at all common, and I know this to be factually true. 

In general, the only time a minor visa violation would be used to deport a foreigner is when there are other reasons the authorities want the person out of country, such as suspected pedophilia, drug involvement or other crimes.  In other words, rather than spend a great deal of money and time conducting a full investigation, it's often more feasible to use the approach of selective prosecution and find a cheaper way to resolve the problem.

Luke, why on earth do you want JIS to close down?  Isn't that akin to throwing out the baby with its dirty bath water?

Even if one or two teachers were implicated with alleged child abuse (which has not yet been ascertained), why penalize all those kids and other teachers?

Venting Roy thats all. One bad apple and the rest can get tarnished and cause problems down the line for others.

On reflection yes probably a bit knee jerk of me but perhaps the school needs to start again and rise from the ashes and show that it can deliver the standards it was known for. However with the new term looming actually how much will have changed in terms of managment control and strategy?

"In general, the only time a minor visa violation would be used to deport a foreigner is when there are other reasons the authorities want the person out of country, such as suspected pedophilia, drug involvement or other crimes."

No, there are known cases people got deported having business visa attending meetings or "visiting" factories.....also people using name cards having titles not conform with their working permits....

I'm unsure I want JIS to close down but they may have little option.
The way the foreign teachers are being treated suggests JIS has managed to upset 'the wrong person'.

Regardless of anything else, whoever should have checked the staff and their criminal records should be sacked without delay. Same goes for the cleaning company but they should be investigated further as they allowed a ring to get into the school; some people might well suspect someone there assisted them, not just didn't do their job properly.
Given sodomizing a child is likely to take a while and be extremely painful for the poor kid, the teachers in charge of those classes should have noticed something.
Their employment must also be in question.

No, there are known cases people got deported having business visa attending meetings or "visiting" factories.....also people using name cards having titles not conform with their working permits....

I'm sorry, but you are only spreading false rumors or urban legends and you'll have to produce some documentation before I will ever consider there being any credibility to your stories.     

The whole purpose of a business visa is to conduct activities like attending meetings and visiting factories...in short any normal business activities which do not involve taking up employment or receiving any payments whilst in Indonesia.  The idea of someone being deported for doing the exact activity covered under a business visa is absurd.   

Equally preposterous are deportations for having a kartu nama with a title which doesn't match the working permit.  Don't get caught believing some of the BS you can read on other forums.   Or, if you chose to believe such nonsense, please don't spread that baloney on this forum.

As for JIS closing, since the school year ends in just over a week, hopefully they can get their act together, clean house, and re-open later in July with this mess behind them.  An en mass deportation of a large group of teachers, or worse yet, prosecuting that same group for such minor visa violations will have no positive impact on the quality of education in Indonesia, as would be foreign teachers give second thought to living and working here.

"I'm sorry, but you are only spreading false rumors or urban legends and you'll have to produce some documentation before I will ever consider there being any credibility to your stories."

I am not spreading rumors.....I do know that, don't expect that I produce documentation here on a public forum. This is also not from one of the forums, I do know from one of my best friends who went through the whole s...himself, and my guests last year had same issue.

Please do not think that people here in this forum are all telling B.S.....

Perhaps, if I my offer a suggestion, HH could produce links to show his point.
That would solve the issue. :)

Fair enough.......but what kind of link you think I should post?

There is no link to post here, if someone do not believe that's fine, I never force someone to do so.

But on the other hand do not accuse me that I tell nonsense, then proof that I talk B.S....

I suppose the link would be to a news report of such a deportation, perhaps a press release or, failing anything else, something like a blog or forum post from someone who has experienced this problem.
I, myself, have heard such rumours but I have no idea if they're true or not.

People are often deported.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/news/jak … violation/http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2014 … tions.html

There are warnings on several sites about the business card thing but I can't find an example of it actually happening, except at JIS, well, okay, not actually but close enough to be the same thing.

http://www.expatarrivals.com/indonesia/ … -indonesia

Expats can be deported for abusing their work permits. This usually means that the expat is working in a position different to what it says on their work permit. If your business card states a slightly different role to what is on your work permit, (e.g. Production Director instead of Managing Director) this is grounds for deportation. Expats should also ensure that their work address on their work permit is the same as the address on their business card.


http://www.mangatursaragih.com/visas-an … ation.html

Deportations of foreigners for 'abusing' their work permits is not uncommon. The usual offense is that the person is working in a position other than what is allowed by the work permit. If your work permit says you are the Production Director ... and your business card says you are the Managing Director - those are grounds for deportation due to abuse of work permit. Another problem is caused when the declared address of work on the IMTA differs from your actual work location. If it does not match, this could void the IMTA and put the employee at risk of a deportation. BEWARE and be cautious about what you put on your business card - make sure it agrees with your work permit!


I've had a good search but can't find any actual examples.

Hang on.

http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2014/06/03 … s-Teachers

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta  Jakarta International School (JIS) has finally commented on the Justice and Human Rights Ministrys plan to extradite 26 of its teachers. JIS spokesperson Daniarti Wusono said that the planned deportation ensued from administrative issues in the teachers document processing.

This was an administrative error and we apologize for that, she told Tempo in an e-mail on Monday, June 2, 2014.

Daniarti said that the teachers at JIS were competent and seasoned, thus their qualification was unquestionable. According to her, the planned deportation surfaced as the school made a fatal error during the processing of the teachers permits and administrative documents.


Correction. The JIS issue was, according to this report, an error in paperwork by JIS.

Thanks Fred for that supportive information.

As I wrote earlier, "the fact is, deportations from Indonesia for a minor infraction such as discussed in the second JP article are not at all common, and I know this to be factually true."

The two cases you cite from the JP are obviously not minor visa infractions, and in both cases had politically sensitive overtones. 

Also as I wrote earlier, "in general, the only time a minor visa violation would be used to deport a foreigner is when there are other reasons the authorities want the person out of country, such as suspected pedophilia, drug involvement or other crimes."

The reason I know this to be factual is because of the positions held by a number of members in my wife's family.  As is normal in any country, prosecutors and officials have considerable discretion in adjudicating laws and regulations. 

Anyone who says that they are being deported because of a discrepancy on their business card versus their work permit, or because they temporarily conducted the work activity of another employee who was unavailable at the time, or some other minor violation is not telling the full story behind their deportation.

I have not heard of any actual cases, but the above post rings true.
It would be interesting to find a couple of real life stories.

The two most recent deportation cases in Bali that I know the full details are each unique.

One was an American who overstayed his visa for over a year and had no verifiable source of income or savings.  There were some serious psychological issues with this person as well.  This guy was incarcerated at the immigration lock down in Jimbaran during the course of processing his deportation and attempts by immigration to get paid.   

The other was an Australian who had a modest restaurant all properly set up, but "on the side" ran a surfing lesson business which was not properly set up.  This was more of a "voluntary" deportation as he was given the chance to get his surfing lesson business properly set up, but his restaurant was failing anyway, and he lacked the funds to properly set up his surfing lesson business.   This person was given adequate time to settle his business affairs prior to departure.

In both these cases, neither were married to an Indonesian...and for certain, marriage to an Indonesian always has a great influence on deportation considerations by immigration, and this is particularly true if the couple has had children from that marriage.

Just on the subject of JIS, if not immigration matters.

http://en.tempo.co/read/news/2014/06/16 … -Shakedown

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta International School has protested a sudden night search of the school building by the Jakarta Police. We are shocked and disturbed, said JIS spokesperson Daniati Wusono on Saturday. ...
... The police found 11 items related to pedophilia acts at JIS.


The search is a little shocking, finding more evidence after this length of time,more so.
One has to ask, what did they find and who does it belong to?
Regardless as to who it belongs to, they need some serious stick.

If it's foreign teachers, hammer them with a long prison stretch before deportation; locals - just the time behind bars.

I am a JIS parent with children at the school and felt I had to respond to this blog.

Initially we were all heartbroken by this terrible news. The possibility that someone has access to your children with evil intentions is horrific. Although my children are not in the early childhood area that was still a massive shock to the system. There was a lot of crying and distraught mothers. I have been sitting next to people who have spontaneously burst into tears, both horror for their own children and for the the little boy.

Despite what the media says about us, JIS parents are not a bunch of pedophiles intent on raping our own and other children. You may not choose to believe this, in which case I will not argue as there is not convincing you.

So there were initially 2 people arrested initially in a police operation assisted by the school. The mother wanted to keep the child in the school, and modern practice is to provide the child with psych support while keeping the remainder of his/her life as normal as possible. The school informed the parents that something happened, they did not say what exactly or to whom- but they explained the actions they were taking.

Soon after the mother of the child held a press conference in which she identified herself and described in graphic detail the alleged offences. At this point the police investigation was well underway. The suspescts had confessed, they are cleaners from multinational ISS.

After this the investigation expanded. The mother had been to three separate hospitals- the first two (SOS Cipete and another, I don't know which one) indicated there was no physical evidence of abuse. A third hospital indicated there had been abuse, and the child tested positive for Herpes.

After this, 4 more suspects were investigated and charged. One of them is a woman who has strongly denied any involvement. Another of the suspects is alleged by the police to have killed himself in custody by drinking bleach on a toilet break. There was no autopsy. All the cleaning staff were tested for herpes virus and this seems to have been an ongoing line of investigation- about 30% of the ISS staff turned out to test positive.

After this the mother demanded compensation from the school for 13.5 million US. The school refused, and her Lawyer OC Kalgis upped the amount to $125 million. Kalgis is under some sort of censure by the Indonesian legal societies who control lawyer behavior. You can google this yourself as i can't remember the details.

Then another two mothers came forward and said their children have also been abused by the cleaners. The police investigated and initially found the case was unfounded. However before this the police released to the media that up to 7 children had been abused and demanded the school hand over all the childrens file photos and data so they could provide these to the suspects and work out who the additional victims were. No further victims were identified from this process.

After some 3 months had passsed, the first mother was looking through the school yearbook with her child. He identified the two teachers who are now in custody as being abusers.  The child claimed that he had been drugged with "magic stone" which left him numb. He was then raped in an open room with four glass walls- there is a female security guard which controls entry to the admin office nearby, as well as constant teacher and parent traffic.After being raped he was returned to the classroom where his own teacher (who has not been investigated) and visiting parents did not notice any behavioural issues. The female school principal was accused of taking video of the event while two teachers raped the boy in the open room. This has all been provided to the media by the mother and by KPAI.

The child was taken to the school accompanied by his mother on a midnight raid and identified the areas he said he was raped in. Police collected evidence including rope, video

Apparantly based on this, one canadian and one indonesia citizen were placed in custody but have not been charged. They can be held for 40 days without charges laid.

During these events, the feeling of parents at the school has gone from grief (the initial accusations), to fear (your childrens photographs and details are being given to pedophiles, what will the police do if they are wrongly identified), then to incredulity and disbelief (magic stones, respected teachers raping children in broad daylight in busy offices with glass wall).

At the end of all this I have not met one parent who now believes any of this happened at all. We all know the issues with the police and government departments. The amount of money under consideration is very large.

For this who talk about bad apples rotting the barrel, I suggest you consider what might be possible consequences if this actually goes to conclusion and people are tried and convicted based on less than sound evidence. Obviously the safety of my children are the most important thing in my life, but my own safety comes a close second and how could we ever defend ourselves in a system where there is no burden of proof and one is not innocent until proven guilty?

Finally, please realise that I am only a "blow-in" to Indonesia. I would happily live elsewhere and if the school were to close it would be inconvenient but not a major problem for my family. However there is a central issue at play, this is the concept of justice. There must be justice for all involved, most importantly the child but also for those who may be innocent of what they have been accused of.

^
Top quality post.
Thanks for the information.

It strikes me, the cleaners must have been an organised gang, deliberately targeting the school.
If I were to walk up to someone and suggest sex with a kid, I'd fully expect a smack in the mouth.
That being the case, there's a better than average chance these people were already active, and were looking for a base.
As for the new arrests, I just don't believe it. As you said, a glass fronted office, in a busy area of the school - it's Enid Blyton.
One hopes, if these claims are false, the parents concerned will be immediately arrested.

I should add, I'm the daddy of a six year old girl, just entering grade one.
If some bugger tried to touch her, the police would be the least of their problems.