5 Aussies on board light aircraft arrested in Indonesia as spies
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5 Aussies on board light aircraft arrested in Indonesia as spies
Hmmm. Last time someone departed northwards to the other country "unannounced" the major problem was with the aviation authority. Fortunately the people each side of the authority's desk knew each other from Pprune.... 
Somehow I don't think the Indonesians will be quite so understanding.
It's not the same pilot is it??? He has not been on here for a couple of days.
Somehow I don't think the Indonesians will be quite so understanding.
It's not the same pilot is it??? He has not been on here for a couple of days.
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no mention of this sort of flight on their website
Cape Air Transport - Cape York Air Charter Services North Queensland
Cape Air Transport - Cape York Air Charter Services North Queensland
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Friends defend five facing Papuan jail as spies | The Courier-Mail dated 3 Oct
Has anyone seen or heard of further news?
Scotty & Vera have always seemed to exist "larger than life". Hope they get this sorted soon.
FIVE Queenslanders are facing seven years' jail in a West Papuan hellhole after a joyflight into the strife-torn province went horribly wrong.
The five people, from Cooktown and Thursday Island, have been accused of being spies and gun-runners for rebels.
But close friends yesterday angrily dismissed suggestions the group had been on a clandestine mission.
Pilot William Scott-Bloxam, his wife, Vera, and their passengers, Keith Mortimer, Hubert Hofer and Karen Burke, failed to get proper visa approval before flying from Thursday Island to Merauke.
The "fun-loving mates" have been detained in the southern city of the Indonesian province on immigration offences for three weeks.
Authorities said it was understood the group would face court to be formally charged or negotiate their release on October 6.
Mrs Scott-Bloxham, who owns an eco-resort in Cooktown, said by phone from her Merauke compound yesterday that she was "in good spirits".
"They are taking a 'keep the chin up' attitude," said one close mate.
"They are not spies or rebel gun-runners, they just stuffed up thinking they could get their visa clearance when they landed."
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesman said the group had been held for not having flight, security or immigration approvals.
He said two consular officials were in Merauke attempting to safeguard their welfare while negotiating the approvals.
Mr Scott-Bloxam, a former 747 pilot who owns Cape York Air Transport and was reportedly scouting tourism opportunities, already has paid a $3800 fine for landing without authorisation.
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Further investigation of the Jakarta Post reveals last article as of 26 Sept 08, below:
From some of the comments posted on the site, it appears Scotty et al, showed up in Merauke expecting "Visa-on-arrival" procedures to be available. Immigration's suspicions and subsequent arrest was only made AFTER he tried to file a flight plan for the RETURN flight.
Police reports five illegal Australian tourist for prosecution
The Jakarta Post | Fri, 09/26/2008 8:53 PM | National
The case of five Australian tourists who entered the country unauthorized last week has been brought to the Merauke district attorney office in Papua for prosecution, the police said Friday.
Police investigators completed their examination of the case and filed a report to the attorney's office Friday morning, National police spokesperson Ir. Gen Abubakar Nataprawira told reporters.
The five Australians entered Indonesia illegally on Sept. 12 on board a six-seater V-68 airplane. They landed at the Mopah Merauke airport after departing from Horn island, Australia.
The Australians claimed to be tourists, Abubakar said, but were not accompanied with the appropriate visa permits. For the violation, the passengers could be sentenced up to seven years in prison, he said.
"The pilots can be charged with up to 12 years for breaking the laws on immigration and aviation."
Currently, the five Australians are in quarantine at the Merauke immigration office. They Australians are: William Henry Scott Bloxam (pilot), Vera Scott Bloxam (co-pilot), Hubert Hoer, Karen Burke and Keith Rowald (passengers). (ast)
From some of the comments posted on the site, it appears Scotty et al, showed up in Merauke expecting "Visa-on-arrival" procedures to be available. Immigration's suspicions and subsequent arrest was only made AFTER he tried to file a flight plan for the RETURN flight.
Police reports five illegal Australian tourist for prosecution
The Jakarta Post | Fri, 09/26/2008 8:53 PM | National
The case of five Australian tourists who entered the country unauthorized last week has been brought to the Merauke district attorney office in Papua for prosecution, the police said Friday.
Police investigators completed their examination of the case and filed a report to the attorney's office Friday morning, National police spokesperson Ir. Gen Abubakar Nataprawira told reporters.
The five Australians entered Indonesia illegally on Sept. 12 on board a six-seater V-68 airplane. They landed at the Mopah Merauke airport after departing from Horn island, Australia.
The Australians claimed to be tourists, Abubakar said, but were not accompanied with the appropriate visa permits. For the violation, the passengers could be sentenced up to seven years in prison, he said.
"The pilots can be charged with up to 12 years for breaking the laws on immigration and aviation."
Currently, the five Australians are in quarantine at the Merauke immigration office. They Australians are: William Henry Scott Bloxam (pilot), Vera Scott Bloxam (co-pilot), Hubert Hoer, Karen Burke and Keith Rowald (passengers). (ast)
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Latest news on Scott-Bloxams and co
A 'phone call of two words - The Torres News
Monday, 13 October 2008 - By MARK BOUSEN
There is still no indication of the fate of five Torres Strait residents being detained in Merauke in Indonesia for allegedly violating air traffic and immigration laws more than three weeks ago.
The five are being detained in an Immigration detention centre while awaiting their future.
I rang one of the five whom I know reasonably well late last week, but was stunned by the very brief chain of events.
This is the conversation.
(I will not identify which one of the five I contacted to protect the person’s safety.)
Me: It’s Mark from the Torres News.
Reply (before I said another word): Good thanks
Me: Are you free to talk?
The ‘phone went dead.
I soon after sent a text message, but there has been no reply.
I have not rung back again for fear of perhaps inflaming the situation.
Susan Skyvington’s account above indeed highlights the need for caution.
I don’t know what the cause for the sudden end of the conversation might be.
The natural explanation would be intervention by Indonesian authorities who are heavily monitoring calls, and decided to end the call as it was from an Australian media outlet.
Maybe the line dropped out, but there is still no response to my text message.
The five are William (right) and Vera Scott-Bloxam, the operators of Cape Air Transport; Hubert Hofer works for the Torres Strait Island Regional Councill; Karen Burke is a receptionist at the Jardine Motel Resort; and Keith Mortimer is a builder.
Meanwhile, the international incident continues.
I know one of the five will no longer take ‘phone calls or respond to text messages - not the one to whom I placed my ‘phone call.
Information from within Australia is scarce to come by. It might be that not too much is known.
But officials are blaming the month-long celebration of Ramadan for slowing progress on the case, and which will be further hampered by the week-long celebrations following the end of Ramadan late last week.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith says people travelling to any country need to respect the laws of the country they’re travelling to, including security, visa and travel arrangements.
Mr Smith described it as "another difficult consular case".
Mr Smith said: "So whilst we endeavour to do everything we can, for Australians overseas, very often our capacity is limited and dependent upon either the legal systems or the cooperation of the relevant government of the sovereign nation state where Australians are.
"Which is why we always indicate to Australians who are travelling abroad to consult our travel advice, but also to respect the laws of the land, or the laws of the country to which they are travelling," he said.
Member for Leichhardt Jim Turnour said: "I am fully aware of the present situation in Papua in which five Australians have been detained by Indonesian authorities.
"These five people are residents in my electorate and their welfare is my concern.
"Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith and Australian officials are working with the Indonesian authorities on this matter and I have maintained close contact with them since the Australians were detained on September 12.
"I have also been speaking to the family of those held who are obviously concerned.
"Of course, I would like to see these five Australians home, but this is a complex case. I understand they did not travel with the necessary approvals and it is important that we continue to work this case through with the Indonesian officials.
"I will continue to work with the Minister and the Department of Foreign Affairs to resolve this case. The Australian Government is working at the highest levels to resolve this issue."
Monday, 13 October 2008 - By MARK BOUSEN
There is still no indication of the fate of five Torres Strait residents being detained in Merauke in Indonesia for allegedly violating air traffic and immigration laws more than three weeks ago.
The five are being detained in an Immigration detention centre while awaiting their future.
I rang one of the five whom I know reasonably well late last week, but was stunned by the very brief chain of events.
This is the conversation.
(I will not identify which one of the five I contacted to protect the person’s safety.)
Me: It’s Mark from the Torres News.
Reply (before I said another word): Good thanks
Me: Are you free to talk?
The ‘phone went dead.
I soon after sent a text message, but there has been no reply.
I have not rung back again for fear of perhaps inflaming the situation.
Susan Skyvington’s account above indeed highlights the need for caution.
I don’t know what the cause for the sudden end of the conversation might be.
The natural explanation would be intervention by Indonesian authorities who are heavily monitoring calls, and decided to end the call as it was from an Australian media outlet.
Maybe the line dropped out, but there is still no response to my text message.
The five are William (right) and Vera Scott-Bloxam, the operators of Cape Air Transport; Hubert Hofer works for the Torres Strait Island Regional Councill; Karen Burke is a receptionist at the Jardine Motel Resort; and Keith Mortimer is a builder.
Meanwhile, the international incident continues.
I know one of the five will no longer take ‘phone calls or respond to text messages - not the one to whom I placed my ‘phone call.
Information from within Australia is scarce to come by. It might be that not too much is known.
But officials are blaming the month-long celebration of Ramadan for slowing progress on the case, and which will be further hampered by the week-long celebrations following the end of Ramadan late last week.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith says people travelling to any country need to respect the laws of the country they’re travelling to, including security, visa and travel arrangements.
Mr Smith described it as "another difficult consular case".
Mr Smith said: "So whilst we endeavour to do everything we can, for Australians overseas, very often our capacity is limited and dependent upon either the legal systems or the cooperation of the relevant government of the sovereign nation state where Australians are.
"Which is why we always indicate to Australians who are travelling abroad to consult our travel advice, but also to respect the laws of the land, or the laws of the country to which they are travelling," he said.
Member for Leichhardt Jim Turnour said: "I am fully aware of the present situation in Papua in which five Australians have been detained by Indonesian authorities.
"These five people are residents in my electorate and their welfare is my concern.
"Minister for Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith and Australian officials are working with the Indonesian authorities on this matter and I have maintained close contact with them since the Australians were detained on September 12.
"I have also been speaking to the family of those held who are obviously concerned.
"Of course, I would like to see these five Australians home, but this is a complex case. I understand they did not travel with the necessary approvals and it is important that we continue to work this case through with the Indonesian officials.
"I will continue to work with the Minister and the Department of Foreign Affairs to resolve this case. The Australian Government is working at the highest levels to resolve this issue."
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Latest from the Torres News
Merauke 5 'healthy and in good spirits'
Monday, 20 October 2008
By MARK BOUSEN
The five Torres Strait residents held in Merauke in Indonesian say they are healthy and in good spirits.
William Scott-Bloxam said in a prepared statement to the Torres News that the group is being "fairly treated by the authorities and very kindly by the local people".
Mr Scott-Bloxam said the group had prepared the statement collectively and he spoke on behalf of all of them.
The five are William and Vera Scott-Bloxam, the operators of Cape Air Transport; Hubert Hofer works for the Torres Strait Island Regional Council; Karen Burke is a receptionist at the Jardine Motel Resort and Keith Mortimer a builder.
The four-sentence statement, which was released only to the Torres News and the local Merauke newspaper, said:
"Owing to incomplete paperwork, we have been detained by Immigration and have been interviewed by the authorities.
"We understand from our lawyers a court hearing is to be scheduled soon.
"We are being treated fairly by the authorities and very kindly by local people.
"Everyone is healthy and in good spirits and we would like to thank our friends and relatives for their messages of support."
Mr Scott-Bloxam declined to answer any questions, saying he did not want to jeopardise the current situation.
Asked about a time table for a court appearance, Mr Scott-Bloxam said: "Things happen at their own pace here."
He did inquire about the current situation with the suspension of Aero-Tropics, and I discussed the matter briefly with him before the conversation ended.
The Torres News understands from independent sources that the court hearing could be as long as three weeks away.
The Indonesian prosecutor handling the case has returned from a two-week vacation and perused the files on the five last week.
However, he is believed to have returned the files to the Police for further questioning of the five Torres Strait residents.
Although accurate information is difficult to obtain from Merauke, the Torres News believes the cases initially could have gone to court as soon as this week, but the reality is it will most likely by the next two to three weeks given the latest delay.
Information provided to the Torres News confirms the statement that the five are well.
One relative told this newspaper that they are safe. "They’re really well looked after."
They are being detained in an Indonesian Immigration centre which also includes the staff and their immediate families, with one estimate of about 500 people living within the compound.
In fact, the Immigration staff prepared a huge cake filled with ice cream for them last Friday, and have built a make-shift barbecue for them.
"There’s no beef, but there seems to be an endless supply of seafood for the barbie."
The relative also believes they went shopping last Saturday morning. The centre even has an ATM machine.
The five have employed a local legal team of representatives – one from each of the four legal firms in Merauke – and who are working on a flat-fee basis.
Susan Skyvington whose harrowing experience of her son, Saul’s, incarceration in Indonesia featured in the Torres News last week said: "At one stage my ‘phone calls to Saul were cut out totally for a whole three weeks - I was eventually able to find out that they had pulled the plug on the whole phone link to West Papua."
From her experience, Susan says a preliminary hearing is set down for the next week or so, but a trial – if it is to happen – would start much later.
"We believed at the time of Saul’s case that he would be home by Christmas – it was in fact mid-February."
Monday, 20 October 2008
By MARK BOUSEN
The five Torres Strait residents held in Merauke in Indonesian say they are healthy and in good spirits.
William Scott-Bloxam said in a prepared statement to the Torres News that the group is being "fairly treated by the authorities and very kindly by the local people".
Mr Scott-Bloxam said the group had prepared the statement collectively and he spoke on behalf of all of them.
The five are William and Vera Scott-Bloxam, the operators of Cape Air Transport; Hubert Hofer works for the Torres Strait Island Regional Council; Karen Burke is a receptionist at the Jardine Motel Resort and Keith Mortimer a builder.
The four-sentence statement, which was released only to the Torres News and the local Merauke newspaper, said:
"Owing to incomplete paperwork, we have been detained by Immigration and have been interviewed by the authorities.
"We understand from our lawyers a court hearing is to be scheduled soon.
"We are being treated fairly by the authorities and very kindly by local people.
"Everyone is healthy and in good spirits and we would like to thank our friends and relatives for their messages of support."
Mr Scott-Bloxam declined to answer any questions, saying he did not want to jeopardise the current situation.
Asked about a time table for a court appearance, Mr Scott-Bloxam said: "Things happen at their own pace here."
He did inquire about the current situation with the suspension of Aero-Tropics, and I discussed the matter briefly with him before the conversation ended.
The Torres News understands from independent sources that the court hearing could be as long as three weeks away.
The Indonesian prosecutor handling the case has returned from a two-week vacation and perused the files on the five last week.
However, he is believed to have returned the files to the Police for further questioning of the five Torres Strait residents.
Although accurate information is difficult to obtain from Merauke, the Torres News believes the cases initially could have gone to court as soon as this week, but the reality is it will most likely by the next two to three weeks given the latest delay.
Information provided to the Torres News confirms the statement that the five are well.
One relative told this newspaper that they are safe. "They’re really well looked after."
They are being detained in an Indonesian Immigration centre which also includes the staff and their immediate families, with one estimate of about 500 people living within the compound.
In fact, the Immigration staff prepared a huge cake filled with ice cream for them last Friday, and have built a make-shift barbecue for them.
"There’s no beef, but there seems to be an endless supply of seafood for the barbie."
The relative also believes they went shopping last Saturday morning. The centre even has an ATM machine.
The five have employed a local legal team of representatives – one from each of the four legal firms in Merauke – and who are working on a flat-fee basis.
Susan Skyvington whose harrowing experience of her son, Saul’s, incarceration in Indonesia featured in the Torres News last week said: "At one stage my ‘phone calls to Saul were cut out totally for a whole three weeks - I was eventually able to find out that they had pulled the plug on the whole phone link to West Papua."
From her experience, Susan says a preliminary hearing is set down for the next week or so, but a trial – if it is to happen – would start much later.
"We believed at the time of Saul’s case that he would be home by Christmas – it was in fact mid-February."
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Last news seen on Scottie's dilemna was circa 24 November , I saw something about their first court appearance.
Has anyone got an update?
FREE THE MERAUKE FIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
at least the local fishermen haven't burned his plane yet ......
By Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson
Posted Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:31pm AEDT
The trial of an Australian pilot charged with breaching Indonesia's territorial sovereignty could be over by Christmas.
William Scott-Bloxam and four Australian passengers landed illegally in Papua on September 12.
Three more witnesses appeared in court today to give evidence against Scott-Bloxam, who flew there from Horn Island in the Torres Strait without the correct flight clearances.
Neither he nor his four Australian passengers had the appropriate Indonesian visas.
The five have said they were investigating tourism opportunities in Papua and believed they could obtain visas on arrival.
An Indonesian Air Force officer and two airport policeman appeared today to describe how Scott-Bloxam's light plane landed in Merauke.
The trial is expected to be over by Christmas.
Has anyone got an update?
FREE THE MERAUKE FIVE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
at least the local fishermen haven't burned his plane yet ......By Indonesia correspondent Geoff Thompson
Posted Mon Nov 24, 2008 8:31pm AEDT
The trial of an Australian pilot charged with breaching Indonesia's territorial sovereignty could be over by Christmas.
William Scott-Bloxam and four Australian passengers landed illegally in Papua on September 12.
Three more witnesses appeared in court today to give evidence against Scott-Bloxam, who flew there from Horn Island in the Torres Strait without the correct flight clearances.
Neither he nor his four Australian passengers had the appropriate Indonesian visas.
The five have said they were investigating tourism opportunities in Papua and believed they could obtain visas on arrival.
An Indonesian Air Force officer and two airport policeman appeared today to describe how Scott-Bloxam's light plane landed in Merauke.
The trial is expected to be over by Christmas.
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previous article in Torres News sez...... the locals have built them a barbie ! theres no meat but plenty of seafood! If I remember correctly, Scotty preferredTiger Prawns anyway 
Hang in there, Mate ! We're pulling for your safe and expeditious return
www . torresnews . com
Hang in there, Mate ! We're pulling for your safe and expeditious return
www . torresnews . com
Lets about face this situation. Imagine 5 Indons rock up on Horn in some dirty old plane registered elsewhere and customs or CASA are on them. I expect they would be spending time in a similar 'hell hole'.
Pretty stupid.
Pretty stupid.
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When you arrive in Bali (Indonesia) with your passport, you are granted a visa on the spot. In a logical society one would expect the same at other Indonesian international ports. At the very worst you would expect to be sent on your merry way.
Hardly stupid.
Hardly stupid.
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When you arrive in Bali (Indonesia) with your passport, you are granted a visa on the spot. In a logical society one would expect the same at other Indonesian international ports. At the very worst you would expect to be sent on your merry way.
Hardly stupid.
Hardly stupid.
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Scottie was told by the head of some Christian Missionary supply outfit that they could get Visa on arrival at the immigration station at Merpoh...... the guy even testified at Scotties first or second hearing back in November.
Guess you can't even beleive the bible-bashers now, eh?
Guess you can't even beleive the bible-bashers now, eh?
