Generally speaking, Bali is an exceptionally safe vacation destination. With street crime, pickpocketing, and scamming comparatively lower than many similarly popular travel destinations worldwide, it’s easy for tourists to feel safe and relaxed on the island.
Safe and relaxed as it might be, that doesn’t mean tourists can completely let their guard down.
This week, villa theft and a motorcycle taxi robbery have hit the headlines. While the incidents have been traumatic for those involved, the cases can serve as a reminder to Bali travelers to check in with some security basics that are easy to forget while in holiday mode.
Police have arrested a 22-year-old Balinese man for theft. Ketut Manih was arrested this week after a 37-year-old Australian tourist reported that he had his gold necklace stolen from around his neck as Manih was posing as a motorcycle taxi driver in Legian.
Police have confirmed that the incident took place at around 2:40 a.m. on September 16th at Jalan Kubu Anyar Gang Sada Sari, a popular vacation resort in Legian.
The victim, known by his initials GHK, was walking back to his accommodation towards Legian Street when Manih approached him and offered him a cheap motorcycle taxi ride back to the hotel.
GHK is said to have accepted the offer of a ride and agreed on a price; once on the bike, Manih drove them down Kubu Anyar Street to Sada Sari Alley.
Arriving in Sada Sari Alley, Manih is reported to have stopped the motorcycle and pushed the bike over so that it landed on GHK.
As he lay on the ground, struggling to move the motorcycle off the top of him, Manih forcibly removed GHK’s gold necklace from around his neck, pulled the motorcycle up, and sped away. The necklace has a reported value of IDR 250 million.
The Head of Public Relations of the Denpasar Police, AKP I Ketut Sukadi, confirmed that his teams were able to track Manih down with the use of CCTV and by tracking his number plate.
“Along with the suspect, evidence was secured in the form of a set of gold necklaces and a cross pendant as a result of the perpetrator’s crime. In addition, the N Max DK 5289 ADF motorcycle was in mandated during the action.”
He added that Manih cited financial struggle for his decision to rob GHK and that he is not part of an organized crime syndicate, nor has he done something similar before, though that has done little to help his case.
“The suspect admitted that he had forcibly pulled the victim’s necklace. The plan is that the necklace will be sold, and the money from the sale will be used for daily needs. The suspect was charged with Article 362 of the Criminal Code about theft with a threat of five years in prison.”
Over in Pererenan Village in Canggu, TikTok superstars who were staying in a rented villa have confirmed that the property was ransacked while they were out exploring the island.
TikTok celebrities Dr. Richard Lee, Willie Salim, Kenneth Seymour, Regiena Shaelynne, and friends were staying at a villa on Jalan Babadan when they went out for a day trip, leaving the villa around 9.30 am.
Returning to the property around 6 pm on Saturday, 21st September, the group found that a MacBook Pro M2, iPad Pro M1, cameras, iPhones, and hundreds of millions of rupiah in cash were missing.
The Head of Public Relations of Badung Police, Ipda I Putu Sukarma, has confirmed that teams are actively investigating the case.
He said, “Based on the reporter’s confession, the losses experienced in the incident were hundreds of millions. Currently still under investigation.”
He also noted that the thieves had forcibly entered the property.
Tourists are reminded to store their valuables securely when leaving their accommodation, especially independent, private villas.
In the event that the villa does not offer a safe or locker, tourists should contact their hosts to locate a safe place to leave their valuables. Tourists should also be mindful of tagging properties and locations on social media, especially if uploading content where valuables are visible.
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