New Delhi:- Australian woman fined hefty $1,500 for dirty passport warns fellow passengers heading to Bali. Monique Sutherland traveled to Bali with her 60-year-old mother for a "coveted vacation".

Sutherland said his seven-year-old passport was a little dirty, so he had to sign an additional blue document when checking in at a Batik Air counter at Melbourne's Tullamarine airport. 

But Ms. Sutherland ran into a problem when she pulled out the blue form at the Bali Immigration Office. "They asked me if I was alone and if I traveled regularly (I'm not) … and I was taken to a small interrogation room," Sutherland told 7News.

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"For over an hour, the police kept coming and going and questioning me." Sutherland said she was "hysterical and terrified" when the police laughed and spoke in Indonesian.

Officials said the 28-year-old woman had been deported after trying to enter the country with her damaged passport. However, she is allowed to stay if she pays a fee of US$1,500. Sutherland said her passport had already been accepted and she refused to pay the fee.

"My passport had actually been accepted and already stamped as a visa, but they only teased me for submitting the blue paper," Sutherland said. Indonesian authorities then pressured Sutherland's 60-year-old mother, claiming her daughter's passport would not be returned until she paid her fine.

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She added that the ordeal was "extremely traumatic" and that spending time checking and stressing whether passports were accepted had ruined an otherwise peaceful holiday. After returning from her trip, Sutherland contacted Melbourne Border Patrol and was told the passport fiasco was likely a hoax.

"My passport was never a real problem," Sutherland said. "It was an easy way to get money from inexperienced tourists." Sutherland's mother reluctantly paid the fine and the couple was escorted to the airport. 

This came after a young vacationer was barred from boarding a flight to Bali after border guards found minor water damage on his passport. Fitness instructor Emma Doherty headed to Sydney Airport on June 21, looking forward to a 10-day solo trip to Bali.

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However, the traveler was denied boarding her flight and authorities said her passport looked "suspicious" because it was submerged. "She was denied boarding a flight to Bali and is now stuck in the middle of Sydney airport," she said.

"I have no idea what to do or where to go. I was literally just told by the military and security at the airport that if they let me into Bali they would put me in solitary confinement." Bali has the strictest passport rules regarding torn or wet travel documents.

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This law was introduced in 2019. Indonesian authorities have successfully detained travelers and fined airlines more than $4,700 for allowing them to travel with damaged passports. 

The Woman traveling named Sutherland who was going to Bali was caught by the officials at the airport and went under a checkup. The officials stopped her from proceeding to the flight.