A MALAYSIAN who visited Indonesia recently claims he was interrogated, strip-searched, sent for an X-ray and had urine samples taken - all because he had numerous Thai entry stamps in his passport.
Taking to threads recently, mreetrav88 said upon arriving at Semarang’s Jenderal Ahmad Yani International Airport, everything progressed smoothly till be was called by a customs officer who asked to see his passport.
"When the officer noticed I had numerous Thai immigration stamps, he pulled me aside and asked if I was sick.
"I said no and then two officers took me to a special room for questioning and this is where my nightmare began," he wrote.
He said officers then began to question him intensely, asking him for his company website and employee identification which he did not have at the time.
"They searched my bag and wallet. They also seized my debit cards and about 2 million rupiah (RM500) which they returned later.
"They also asked for my flight ticket, hotel and train bookings and also kept my passport," he said.
Because his pre-booked airport driver was already waiting, he had to message the driver to ask him to wait as he had been detained for checks.
"They told me to go into a small room and take off all my clothes for inspection. Thankfully, it didn't go as far as what you see on TV. No invasive checks," he wrote.
The officers then escorted him to the toilet to provide a urine sample.
Officers then checked his Telegram and WhatsApp groups and chats, including with friends in Jakarta, to verify he wasn’t involved in drug smuggling.
A senior officer later joined the investigation and took photos of his flight ticket and hotel booking.
While his debit cards were returned, mreetrav88 was informed that he still needed an X-ray scan at the airport hospital to confirm there were no foreign substances in his body.
Before leaving, he said the officers checked his photo gallery to ensure he hadn’t taken pictures of them, but luckily, it was clean.
"Three customs officers escorted me to the airport hospital for the X-ray. One of them even called my airport transport driver, asking him to wait,".
After the scan came back clear, officers returned his passport and said the checks were standard security procedure.
When his airport driver didn’t answer, they even booked him a Grab and covered both the hospital and transport costs.
"Only after I got into the Grab did my driver text me, asking where I was. I told him to just complete the order. I felt bad for making him wait so long," he said.
mreetrav88 said the experience ruined his travel mood, so he spent the day quietly wandering around Semarang’s Kota Lama, near his hotel.
"It was a scary but valuable lesson," he said, reminding travellers to stay calm, cooperate fully, and always have documents and bookings ready when passing through customs. - November 4, 2025
