We’ve all walked past the “Nothing to Declare” lane hoping not to get stopped. For one Malaysian traveller, that fear came true and what followed was far more intense than anything he expected.
Here’s what happened the moment he touched down in Semarang, Indonesia.
Everything seemed routine until customs called his name
A Malaysian man shared on Threads that his recent trip to Semarang turned into a two-hour nightmare after customs officers pulled him aside right after he scanned the All-Indonesia QR code.
He said he had just landed when a customs officer noticed the number of Thailand stamps in his passport and began questioning him about his health. What started as simple questions quickly became something else.
Moments later, two officers escorted him into a special interrogation room.
That’s when the nightmare began,” he wrote.
Officers demand more documents
Once inside, the atmosphere changed. Officers began digging deeper asking why he was visiting, how often he travelled to Indonesia, and insisting on checking every travel document he had, from flight info to hotel and train bookings.
Trying to keep calm, he texted his airport pickup driver to wait, explaining that he had been “detained”.
But the situation escalated even further when officers started questioning him about his job, his company and even asked if he had an employee ID. They went through his wallet and bag, seizing all his debit cards in the process.
Finding about Rp2,000,000 (approx. RM505) in cash raised even more suspicion before they eventually returned it.
More uneasiness
As if the questioning wasn’t intense enough, officers instructed him to enter a small room and strip naked for a physical inspection. The check was quick, but not the end of it.
He was then escorted to the toilet for a urine test before being pushed back into another round of questioning, this time about his Indonesian acquaintances.
They asked to see his Telegram chats, checked how they met, and even scanned his work WhatsApp group.
Things only escalated again when a senior officer came in and began photographing his flight tickets and hotel bookings.
Underwent X-ray checks
Just when he thought the ordeal was ending, officers informed him that he had to undergo an X-ray at the airport hospital. Only after receiving a clear result would he be allowed to enter Indonesia.
Before leaving the room, they thoroughly checked his phone gallery to ensure he hadn’t taken any photos of the officers.
He was then escorted by three customs officers, a moment he said felt both intimidating and surreal.
“Maybe I looked sick or suspicious”
To understand what he truly went through, we reached out to the traveller, who preferred to be known only as Ree. He recounted the experience in detail, shedding light on parts of the ordeal he hadn’t shared publicly.
According to him, he was detained from 11am to 1pm, calling it “the longest two hours” of his life. While many would assume the strip check was the worst part, he revealed otherwise.
For him, the most terrifying moment came when officers confiscated all his debit cards and combed through his personal chats including conversations with an Indonesian acquaintance and even his work WhatsApp group.
“I was worried they might take me somewhere else to extort money or something,” he told WeirdKaya.
When recalling the strip search, he admitted that his mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenarios he had heard from other travellers.
“I was really afraid they might do the invasive thing I’ve heard about; the whole ‘finger check in anus’ like you see on TV or hear from people. Thankfully, they only made me strip for a short moment. But at that time, my heart was pounding.”
Looking back, Ree said his multiple Thailand stamps and his exhausted appearance from lack of sleep may have raised red flags.
Interestingly, while the officers didn’t explicitly apologise, he said their tone grew noticeably softer once everything was over. They also covered the cost of his X-ray and Grab ride, a gesture he interpreted as a subtle apology.
“No explanation. All they said was that it’s their procedure. But honestly, I think my tired face didn’t help. I hardly slept the night before, so maybe I looked sick or suspicious. And my passport has a lot of Thailand stamps, that probably raised their eyebrows too.”
Unforgettable experience
Once the X-ray results were clear, officers returned his passport and told him he was free to go.
They tried calling his driver again but couldn’t reach him, so customs arranged a Grab for him and paid the fare. Only when he got into the Grab did the driver WhatsApp him asking where he was.
Still shaken, he apologised and told the driver to just complete the order.
After such an intense ordeal, he admitted the incident completely ruined his mood for the day. Instead of exploring Semarang as planned, he stayed close to his hotel and walked around Kota Lama Semarang, trying to calm himself down.
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