A Taiwanese couple were accused of illegally entering Peru after they spent their honeymoon in the South American country, because they did not have an entry stamp affixed to their visas that showed when they entered the country.
Chan Te-shin (詹德馨) and Lin Li-hsiang (林立祥) flew from Buenos Aires to Lima, the capital of Peru, on May 6.
They told reporters yesterday that they have been barred from leaving the country since May 9.
“We did not pass through the immigration counters after we arrived in Lima because we went the wrong direction and ended up at the domestic airport. Therefore we did not have entry stamps on our visa,” Chan said.
They tried to go back to pass through the immigration counters after they realized that they had gone the wrong way, but they were stopped by security officers at the airport who told them that it was not necessary, she said.
Chan said they then turned to LAN Airlines, which they checked in with in Argentina, to help them get back to the immigration counter, but LAN Airlines told them to continue on to their flight from Lima to Cuzco and said it would help them transfer their baggage.
On May 9 when they were to leave the country, they were detained by immigration officers and sent to the police for questioning, Chan said.
The Peruvian Department of Immigration and Citizenship has rejected the affidavit issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prove that Chan and Lin were not illegal immigrants and they are now seeking legal assistance to face the charges, she said.
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