Malaysians scamming Malaysians: Indonesia nab 30 in Pontianak hotel raid

Pontianak Immigration chief Sam Fernando said the Malaysians, comprising 22 men and eight women, were detained along with a Taiwanese man at the hotel were likely defrauding other Malaysians.—Picture by Raymond Manuel

First Published: Friday, 11 Sep 2026 5:30 PM MYT

JAKARTA, Sept 11 — Indonesian authorities have detained 30 Malaysians suspected of running online scam activities from a hotel in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, allegedly targeting fellow Malaysians.

Pontianak Immigration Office chief Sam Fernando said the Malaysians, comprising 22 men and eight women, were detained along with a Taiwanese man at the hotel at about 11.15am on Tuesday in a joint operation with Pontianak City Police following intelligence on suspicious activities involving foreigners.

Sam said the 31 foreign nationals had used 14 rooms in the hotel for their activities.

“The targets were most likely Malaysian nationals. They were allegedly attempting to defraud Malaysian nationals,” he told a press conference on Thursday, according to a video uploaded online.

Based on the information obtained so far, Sam said there were no Indonesians among the targets.

All 31 were taken to the Pontianak Immigration Detention Centre for further questioning, with several items linked to the suspected activities also seized.

Sam said three Malaysian nationals were found to have overstayed, while there were also cases of misuse of stay permits for activities that were not in accordance with the purposes for which they were granted.

They also had not arrived together, with some entering through Pontianak airport, the Entikong land border crossing and Jakarta using various types of immigration permits, he said.

“The length of time they have been here varies. Some have been here for two months, while others for three weeks,” he said.

Sam said his office would coordinate with relevant Malaysian authorities as investigations into the case continued. — Bernama