Airport shakedown of Hollywood actor probed

JAKARTA. The Law and Human Rights Ministry said on Tuesday that it had launched an investigation into allegations of extortion committed by an immigration official against Canadian-born Hollywood actor Taylor Kitsch.

Deputy Law and Human Rights Minister Denny Indrayana said the official, who allegedly committed the shakedown while Kitsch was in the country in February, had been identified and that a probe was ongoing.

The Immigration Office had earlier said that Kitsch was mugged while he was passing through the immigration counter at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Bali.

“The person who interacted [with Kitsch] has been identified and we are currently in the process of investigating his version of events,” Denny said on Tuesday.

Denny said it had been easy to locate the errant official. “We have questioned [the official concerned] as our current immigration system allows us to identify who was in charge at specific times.”

Denny declined to comment, however, on what type of penalty should be imposed upon the official should he be found guilty of contravening the Immigration Office’s code of conduct.

“The punishment will depend upon the ongoing investigation,” he said.

Kitsch recently told David Letterman on the US television chat show, Late Show with David Letterman, while promoting his new film John Carter, that he was flying from Japan to the Philippines to start work on his new movie, Savages, directed by Oliver Stone.

He told Letterman he had to convince “customs” that he was in fact an actor trying to get to Bali, which he mistook as the Philippines.

Savages is partly shot on Moyo Island in West Nusa Tenggara.

Kitsch claimed they were going to put him on a plane back to Japan since he didn’t have enough clean pages in his passport for stamps.

“He didn’t believe I was an actor,” Kitsch said, referring to the official. “So, I’m literally pitching myself to this guy.”

Kitsch said he had to show customs the John Carter trailer on his iPhone to prove he was the star of the movie. He wrapped up by saying “John Carter got me through customs.”

He also mentioned that the official was intrigued by his iPhone and asked if the actor could get him one.

The interview later went viral, which prompted Philippines’ customs officials to refute the story.

Philippines’ customs chief, Ruffy Biazon, researched the claims and posted on his personal blog that there were no records of Kitsch visiting the country. (The Jakarta Post)