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| Random photo, the people in this picture were not involved in the crime that was committed in the following story. |
Recently I received an email from a friend of mine that lives in Bali. And I felt that it was important that I share this e-mail if only to warn people that they should be careful. On the same day I also read an article in my local Australian newspaper. It would seem to me that damming reports are coming out of Bali far too frequently. And I have to wonder just what effect this is having on the islands future tourist industry; the article seems to answer this question. The newspaper article can be found by following this link: https://www.facebook.com/baliraw
Hi Malcolm please feel free to use the
following experience on your blog if you think it is appropriate.
A week ago I was sitting in a restaurant
directly opposite the T-junction on the 1-way section of Legian Street, whereby
you can turn left towards the memorial or right to Melasti Street. At the
T-junction you have a new circle K on your right. Across the road in front of
the restaurant there are normally a group of Balinese men with bikes numbering
between 3 and 5 people. There seems to be a leader who is in his forties, he is
well-built and he always wears dark glasses. I was waiting in the restaurant
for my wife who was involved in a business meeting around the corner. And because
I had nothing better to do I was keeping an eye on this group. I am also relatively
fluent in Bahasa Indonesian and I know a smattering of the Balinese language.
And so I could tell that they were speaking to each other in Balinese dialect.
While I sat watching two more Balinese men showed
up and they parked their bikes and then greeted the group. It was obvious to me
that they were all friends or at the very least they were associates. There was
then a bit of a commotion and the two new arrivals ran across the road and they
entered the circle K convenience store. Inside the store were two young Western
girls who appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen years old. The Balinese
men then proceeded to place their arms about the girl’s shoulders and they
began to flirt with them somewhat aggressively. Being that I have lived in Bali
for the past fifteen years I see this all the time. And whether the girls like
it or not, it is quite common for Indonesian men to behave in this way when approaching
young tourist women. After the brief encounter in the convenience store one of
the Balinese men came running outside. He then made a show to his mates that he
was holding something under his right arm. I also noticed that he had a
triumphant smirk on his face. He then ran to his bike and he jumped on and took
off at speed down Legian Street. He was heading towards the bombing victims memorial.
The two girls then followed him from the convenience store and I noticed that
they looked very concerned. They were searching in a bag, and in their pockets,
and it seemed obvious that they were they were missing something.
Hearing Australian accents and thinking that
I may be able to help. I crossed the road and I asked the young ladies if there
was a problem. One of the girls then told me that she had somehow lost her I phone.
And that she had been using it moments before they had entered the store. I then
quietly told them what I had seen and what I suspected. And I added that the
man who had just left the store was associated with the men sitting across the
street. I then noticed that the leader of the group and one of his associates
had crossed the road and that they were standing behind me. When I turned both of
them gave me a threatening, don’t become involved look. And when I backed off
they then proceeded to ask the girl what her problem was. The girl who had her phone pinched then yelled
at him that his friend had stolen her phone from her. The leader then gave the
girl a menacing look, and he then asked her in an obviously bullying tone what
she intended to do about it. He did not seem too concerned that he was
threatening a young tourist woman in broad daylight.
By that stage I had seen enough and so I
then pulled the girls aside and away from the thug. I was worried that he might
do something stupid and so I invited them to join me in the restaurant across
the street. I then explained that there really wasn’t much I could do about getting
the phone back. But I suggested that they find a policeman. And I told them
where the nearest police box was located. I also told them that I would stay in
the restaurant and keep an eye on the group until they returned. The girls then
left to find the police and once they were gone. The group climbed onto their
bikes and one by one they road past where I was sitting. The leader of the
group was the last to leave and his threatening stare left me in no doubt that
he wasn’t happy about my interference.
When the girls returned I called them over
and I told them the Balinese men had left. I then apologised because I could
not stop them from taking off. The young women then told me that they could not
find any police to help. They then went on to explain that they knew the guys
as they had met the night before. Their hotel was just up the road and they
passed the spot regularly. Then the friend of the victim said they had been
with them the night before and that she had also had her phone stolen. She
added that she did not suspect it was the Balinese guys because they thought
they were their friends. I should also mention that the girls had made a police
report the previous night when the first phone was taken.
Malcolm I am writing this email is because
although I have lived in Bali a long time. And I have never seen a crime this
blatant being committed in the open. The theft was committed at lunchtime around
2 p.m. in the afternoon. The staff in the circle k could see what was going on
and the staff members in the restaurant were also aware. I know this because I
overheard them discussing the theft in Indonesian. I was also given the
distinct impression that they did not care less about the robbery and that some
of them found it amusing. I would also bet that if I were to go to that corner
right now the same gang would be hanging around. What also struck me was how
well the theft was organised and how well it was carried out. To my mind it was
obviously well practiced. And therefore I would have to consider that this was
not the first time it had been perpetrated. I was also shocked that the group
had no real fear of police involvement and they were quite willing to use
intimidation when questioned by the young lady.
We all hear the stories of the nightly
robberies in Bali and how the thieves prey on revellers who have had too much
to drink. But it now seems that these thugs are willing to cowardly prey on
young tourist girls in the middle of the day. And that they will do it on the main
street with no fear of arrest. I have lived in Bali for close to fifteen years.
But it is my experience that these crimes are getting far worse and far more frequent.
I would also be able to identify the leader of the group to the police. But I
was left with little doubt that I would put myself in danger if I did so. The
leader of the group made this abundantly clear when he rode away from the scene
of the crime.
Malcolm I love Bali and I have made it my
home. But it really concerns me that some people within the Balinese community,
not Javanese, would stoop to such a low act. Do they not realise that if they
continue to prey on tourists, the very lifeblood of their economy, the tourists
will stop coming? Do they not understand
that they are shooting themselves in the foot, and that they are going to hurt
the wider and more honest members of their own community? It saddens me that it
is coming to this but crime in Bali is escalating. And I have to say that after
witnessing this event that I am now considering pulling up stumps and finding a
less crime ridden place to live.
