In Reply to: voa posted by Roo_Ted on Wednesday, 17. January 2007 at 12:45 Bali Time:
I would refuse to pay for an obvious scam like this. For instance, I always take my own health supplements with me and always declare them. Usually the customs officer doesn't even want to look at them, but on just one occasion I was accused of carrying travellers' samples in order to do business and the officer tried to sting me with some kind of "import duty". After a while, he realised he was wasting his time on me, when it could be more profitably spent "negotiating" with someone else and we were on our way, with no hard feelings and smiles all round. In a way, we have to admire them, don't we?
It's a bit like bargaining over teeshirts etc, as long as you keep it lighthearted and don't get upset, and you know you really haven't done anything wrong, then they may as well just let you walk away.