Indonesian police chief Hidayat confirms 'wads of cash' paid to people smugglers

Indonesia's foreign minister has asked the Australian government to explain claims it paid people smugglers to return 65 asylum seekers to Indonesian waters, as a local police chief insists the payment occurred.

Fairfax Media is aware of the contents of a detailed official report submitted to the Indonesian National Police in Jakarta, who are now also investigating the incident, and has seen photographs of stacks of $US100 bills allegedly paid to the boat crew.

Semuel Messak, the head of Landu village, indicating where the boat came ashore. Credit: Amilia Rosa

The report outlines claims by the boat's captain, Yohanis Humiang, that an Australian official gave each of the six crew members $US5000 on the condition they never engage in people smuggling again.

Rote police chief Hidayat is adamant the captain is speaking the truth. He said the money had been given to the crew by an Australian official and was not evidence of a crime.

Jasmine and Kanak, the boats the Australian authorities gave the people smugglers before sending them back to Indonesia.

"Wasn't your trip here because you do not believe my story (that money was paid to crew)?" Mr Hidayat, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, said to Fairfax Media in a heated outburst.

"I believe it was the Sydney Morning Herald article that says the minister denies the payment? Just say it frankly, you don't believe me."

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop have both denied the payments took place.

However Prime Minister Tony Abbott refused to directly answer the question, saying: "The Australian government will do whatever we need to do to keep this evil trade stopped."

Another source showed Fairfax Media a photograph of six stacks of $US100 bills with the serial numbers and names of the people who were supposed to receive the money. The photo forms part of the report to the National Police.

The crew asked for the money be sent to their villages but for now it is still at Rote police station.

Mr Hidayat said Mr Abbott had campaigned to stop the boats, which was why he had been elected Prime Minister.

"He's keeping his promise. Nothing will change, he will stop the boats. More than once they (Australia) breached Indonesian waters, they admitted that. Then there was the orange boats. Now these, it could encourage people smugglers to smuggle more immigrants, hoping for payment."

Foreign Ministry spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir said once the National Police investigation was completed Indonesia would seek clarification from the Australian government.

"The push-back policy is already bad enough," Mr Nasir said. "And now if this incident is confirmed this would be a new law in the way this issue is being handled. The question would then arise whether this constitutes an authority collaborating and abetting with people smugglers to re-traffick the people."

The Rote police report says that in April the crew was recruited to work on a fishing boat by a broker called Arman Yohanes in Jakarta.

Mr Yohanis, the captain, was from Menado in North Sulawesi, a region famous for its sailors.

The crew were promised 20 million rupiah ($AUD2000) each but had not yet been paid.

The crew were gathered at Cempaka Hotel in Jakarta in May and then taken to Pelabuhan Ratu, where on May 5 they were taken to a fishing boat.

The organiser told the crew to take 65 asylum seekers – including a pregnant woman and three young children – to New Zealand.

The crew members, who were interrogated until 2am on Saturday morning, insist they were on international waters when the asylum seeker boat was twice intercepted by Australian customs and then the navy.

The report says the boat was first stopped in international waters by a customs ship who warned the crew they could not enter Australian waters.

Four days later the boat was intercepted by the navy and Mr Yohanis was interrogated by customs.

The captain reportedly agreed to be towed to Ashmore Reef, which is in Australian territorial waters, after the second interception because their boat was unseaworthy and unlikely to reach New Zealand.

The official report says an Australian official named Agus, who spoke fluent Indonesian, told the captain, Mr Yohanis, that Australia would not accept the asylum seekers.

"From the communication, he was generous and said: 'We can't accept you brought us immigrants here. Each of you will be given $US5000. With one condition: that you go back to Indonesia, use it for business and never do this kind of work ever again'," Agus reportedly told the crew.

The 65 asylum seekers from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar were then transferred onto two wooden boats called Jasmine and Kanak. They were given a map of Rote Island, life jackets and food and sent back to Indonesia.

Seaweed farmers on Landu island, the southernmost populated island of Indonesia, spotted the asylum seekers stranded on rocks at 4.30pm on May 31.

Some of the crew swum ashore and hired a local fisherman's boat to Rote.

While most of the asylum seekers had put on lifejackets and were swimming ashore, village chief Semuel Messak says 10 people, mostly women and children, were still stranded on board the Kanak. One woman was breastfeeding.

When all of the asylum seekers had been evacuated in small boats, they gathered at Mr Semuel's home.

The whole village provided clothes, with Mr Semuel donating 18 sarongs, of which only six were returned.

"They all looked so wet and cold," Mr Semuel said. "I said to my wife: 'Don't worry about the clothes being returned because God will pay us back."

Mr Semuel's wife cooked noodles, fish and rice but some of the asylum seekers were too petrified to eat.

One of the Bangladeshi men, who spoke broken Indonesian, said they were scared the police would come and shoot them.

"I calmed them down and said: 'Don't worry, the Indonesian police are very kind'," Mr Semuel said.

Police took the asylum seekers to Rote the following day.

Police chief Hidayat said humanity was the first consideration for Indonesians when dealing with asylum seekers.

"They are not animals, they are people," he said. "What if it was us in their shoes?"

He said if Indonesia adopted the same push-back policy as Australia, asylum seekers would be endlessly trapped at sea. "What happens to them?"

The asylum seekers are now staying at an immigration hostel in Kupang, while the crew are detained in holding cells on Rote police station while their people smuggling charges are processed.

A source said Australian Federal Police officers had not been allowed to interview the crew.

However he said they visited the site where Jasmine and Kanak are moored off Rote island on Friday with consular staff from Australia and New Zealand.

The AFP did not respond to Fairfax Media before deadline.

Labor immigration spokesman Richard Marles said Prime Minister Tony Abbott must issue an emphatic denial that any payments had taken place.

"If this government has been handing over wads of cash to people smugglers, that is a disgrace," he told reporters in Melbourne. "I think there's a whole lot that needs to be investigated here."