Police suspect an Australian man found dead on the side of a road near a popular resort area in Bali was murdered.
It was initially thought Mark Ovenden, from the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, may have died after falling from his rented motorcycle.
But it emerged on Monday that police in Bali had opened a murder investigation after an autopsy report found asphyxiation from a wooden stick or other hard object was likely to be the primary cause of death.
Why isn’t this making headline news right across Australia? Nothing against Schapelle Corby, but if the Australian beauty student coughed loudly it would be front page news.
A young Australian has been murdered in Bali and very few details of the incident are being released. Why is that? The question needs to be asked. Is it the Bali Police, the Bali Government or are the Australian media just not that interested? Or is there something far more sinister going on? I don’t know. But I would like to know.
I witnessed this when a young Kiwi tourist was bashed in a Bali nightclub and died the next morning. Yes it was reported but it was by no means given high priority in the media. I still don’t know if anyone has been charged over the case, or if anyone was sent to jail.
What happened to the young Australian recently murdered in Bali? And what will happen to the perpetrators of this crime if they are caught? Will they be given the death penalty? Or is that particular punishment reserved for stupid Australians who try and smuggle drugs into Indonesia?
It does appear that nobody wants to report on the bad things that happen in Bali. And I can’t help but wonder if this because Australian journalists are afraid of being arrested or deported if they say something bad about Indonesia...
Good question. I'd like to know why we're not hearing more about it.
ReplyDeleteHave read your book and found it all too true as I have lived the last couple of years in Bali before finally having enough I will never return. This is just another example of the Indonesian government covering up anything bad related to Bali that they can.
ReplyDeleteYou mention an incident in this blog about a Kiwi Tourist and yes your right not enough was said about that night, there was so much more that should have been told. The KIWI actually walked from the incident and was taken back to the hotel by his girlfriend and not to a hospital, that says it all. What happened in that hotel room when the doors were closed no one knows and no one every will. Alot of people's lifes changed that night, and for the most the locals that did go to prison and did loose everything they had and more. Truth is they were the ones not given a chance, tourist should be accountable for there actions and stop blaming locals & Bali for there BAD BAD behaviour. I too spend alot of time in Bali and one of the locals from that evening is my husband. His life will never be the same again. The locals are the forgotten ones and the bad behaviour they witness from cashed up tourists.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry for your circumstances they sound like they are very difficult. I also feel sorry for the young man that lost his life and his girlfriend and his family. I can imagine that this was a tragic situation for everyone concerned.
ReplyDeleteMy comments confront the reporting of such incidents by the Australian, New Zealand and the Indonesian press. Not the Indonesian judicial system. They have little to do with your husband's guilt or innocence. Perhaps, if you feel there has been an injustice perpetrated, it would be wise to appeal to the Indonesian courts.
You also state that tourists should be accountable for their actions and I agree to a point. I would also hope that there was enough certified and competent security staff available to safely escort any unruly patron outside a club and to peacefully send them on their way.
Bali has a reputation for being a safe holiday destination, but there are aspects of the island that I think tourists should be warned about so they can holiday without getting into trouble. If people know about the darker side of Bali, then they can behave accordingly to make sure they are safe there.