STRANDED FOREIGNERS QUARANTINED IN PALU IMMIGRATION OFFICE

Palu, Central Sulawesi, Nov. 7 (ANTARA) - Eight foreigners who claimed to be Filipinos and got stranded in Tolitoli, Central Sulawesi, have been quarantined in the Palu immigration office, a local official said.

They had undergone medical check-ups and been declared healthy, according to Dewo Murdomo of the Palu immigration office, here on Saturday.

"They will first be quarantined before being legally processed," Murdomo said.

Hiya B Jani, one of the stranded foreigners, said he had worked in Malaysia since 1982 and intended to go back home to Tawi-Tawi, the Philippines.

"Tawi-Tawi is part of Mindanao (the Philippines). I wante to retern to Tawi-Tawi to see my children," he said in Malay which he had picked up during his stay in Malaysia.

He said it usually took about one hour and 15 minutes from Lahar Datu (Sabah, Malaysia) to Tawi-Tawi by speedboat.

"When the weather is fine, we can see Tawi-Tawi island from Sabah," he said.

He explained that he and 10 other people, including the skipper and four children, left Malaysia on October 27, 2009. On their way to Tawi-Tawi, they almost had an encounter with a Malaysian water police patrol boat but they managed to avoid the police. Later, however, they got lost and finally strayed into Sulawesi waters.

When they were found by the Indonesian authorities, three of them had died most probably due to starvation.
Meanwhile, Dewo Murdomo said that the Palu immigration office could not confirm whether they were really Filipino nationals or not because none of them had identity cards.

But the stranded foreigners said they were Filipinos who had been working as laborers in Malaysia.

Murdomo said after interviewing them, the Palu immigration office would ask the assistance of Filipino consulate general's officers in Manado, North Sulawesi, to confirm whether they were Filipinos or not.