KOROR (Palau Horizon) — The Attorney General’s Office has filed charges against a 17-year-old youth who attempted to enter Palau using a fake Japanese passport.
Immigration Officer III Joe Giramur said the teen arrived here aboard a plane from Manila, the Philippines.
Upon arrival, the defendant presented a Japanese passport and stated in his Division of Immigration arrival record form that he was born in Tokyo on March 11, 1979.
But one of the Immigration officers suspected that the passport was phony since the name given by the defendant did not appear to be a Japanese name.
Giramur then questioned the teen concerning his passport. He asked questions in English, Japanese and Chinese but the defendant did not respond. The youth was then detained.
After two days, Giramur concluded that the passport was fake since it did not have a departure stamp from Manila.
The passport, unlike authentic passports from Japan, also did not contain a holographic photo of the teen on the photo identification page.
Giramur asked the youth if he had another passport. The teen then produced a Chinese passport which showed that he was born on March 11, 1985. The Bureau of Immigration received assistance from the Japanese embassy here in its investigation.
The bureau was informed that the Japanese passport was reported lost on April 4, 2002 and a replacement was already issued to its owner.
