Jakarta. A spokesman for the National Police said the police’s cyber crime unit is investigating several social media accounts that apparently have been spreading rumors of Chinese migrant workers coming in droves to Indonesia illegally.

"We will announce [the results of the investigation] soon," Insp. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said in Jakarta on Wednesday (28/12).

Boy pointed out that spreading false rumors on social media is punishable by law.

"It violates the Electronic Information and Transaction [ITE] Law, article 28 paragraph 2," he said.

Last Friday, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo denied that millions of illegal Chinese migrant workers have already flocked to Indonesia.

"People say we now have 10, 20 million Chinese [migrant workers]. But there are actually only around 21,000 of them, a very small number," Jokowi said in a speech in Karawang, West Java.

Jokowi warned the public not to spread rumors of Chinese migrant workers stealing local jobs. The president pointed out it is unlikely for Chinese people from Hong Kong to come to Indonesia to do manual labor, as the pay here is meager.

"Workers from Hong Kong, United States and Europe are paid higher than us. They wouldn't want to come here,” Jokowi said.

The president said Indonesia wants more tourists, not workers, from China.