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Indonesia’s
immigration office denied reports that one of its officers extorted Hollywood
actor Taylor Kitsch during his recent visit to the country, but admitted that
the officer’s treatment of the rising star was “improper.”
Taylor Kitsch showed a scene from "John Carter," pictured, to an Indonesian immigration officer to prove he was an actor. (AP Photo/Disney) |
The
immigration office was under fire after Kitsch told a US talk show about his
unpleasant encounter with an airport customs officer, describing how he had
difficulties when he was trying to enter the country and how the officer asked
for his iPhone as a bribe.
Indonesia’s
immigration office spokesman Maryoto Sumadi said on Tuesday that Kitsch entered
the country through Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport on Feb. 1, and that a special
team from Jakarta had been dispatched to Bali to investigate the case.
On
Wednesday, Bali's immigration office announced the team’s findings.
“The
officer in question denied the claim of extortion, saying the actor still had
the iPhone,” the head of Bali’s immigration office, Ida Bagus Komang Adnyana,
said in Denpasar.
He
identified the officer only as R.E., 29.
Kitsch’s
passport pages were full, leaving no space for another stamp. So, R.E. took
Kitsch to a room where the actor showed his visa and said that he was in
Indonesia to shoot his latest movie, Oliver Stone’s “Savages,” in East Nusa
Tenggara.
R.E. did
not believe he was an actor, so Kitsch showed the trailer of “John Carter,” in
which he starred, on his iPhone.
“It was
then R.E. commented that the actor had a nice i-Phone. He didn’t go further by
asking for the phone, let alone extort [Kitsch],” Ida said.
Ida
admitted, however, that R.E.’s treatment of the actor was improper.
“The
dialogue shouldn’t have happened. It is not allowed under the code of ethics,
especially considering the impact,” he said.
Ida added
R.E. was on leave for investigative purposes. R.E. will probably receive a
sanction within the next few days, although it has yet to be decided what the
sanction will be.
Ida said
Kitsch arrived in Bali on board a Singapore Airlines flight, and was in
Indonesia from Feb. 1 to 11.
Kitsch, 30,
is best known for his portrayal of American football star Tim Riggins in the
television series “Friday Night Lights.”
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