New Safety Advice Issued To Female Tourists In Bali After Assault In Amed

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On Wednesday 12th March a female tourist, known by her initials MLM, was assaulted in the coastal hideaway of Amed.

The woman, who is reported to have been on vacation in Amed, was accosted by two men on a motorcycle before driving away.

The incident has been reported to the media by Abang Police Chief, AKP I Komang Susiawan, who issued statements after MLM’s online post about the incident went viral.

Speaking to reporters on 25th March, AKP Susiawan explained that the police have visited MLM at her accommodation to understand the chronology of events. 

MLM told reporters that the incident took place in broad daylight, at around 9 am. She explained how she drove a motorcycle to a food stall located close to her accommodation.

AKP Susiawan told reporters that the victim was left blindsided and traumatized by the incident. He shared that “One of the two people immediately grabbed the victim’s breast and immediately ran away.”

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To alert other tourists to the incident MLM took to an Amed tourist Facebook forum to share her ordeal. Her post caught the attention of Abang Police Station who told reporters that they immediately formed a team and ordered the Head of Intelkam, the Head of Criminal Investigation, the Chief of the Amed Subsector Police, and Bhabinkamtibmas of Purwakerthi Village to conduct a thorough investigation so that the perpetrator could be caught as quickly as possible. 

AKP Susiawan told reporters that as a preventive measure, the Chief of Subsector Police Amed and the Head of Purwakerthi Village have also coordinated the installation of CCTV in strategic locations to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.

He concluded, “We urge residents and tourists to always be alert and immediately report if they experience or see a similar incident. The safety and comfort of tourists is our priority.”

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This is not the first incident of this kind to be reported to local police in recent months. The online citizen journalism group, Canggu Community, has been documenting anonymous reports from women in the Canggu area, who have been accosted or assaulted by Indonesian men.

The seeming rising number of reports has many feeling that the situation has become something of an epidemic.

Reports of attacks on women have been reported to the Canggu Community in Berawa, Pererenan, and Sesesh.

In many cases, formal reports have also been made to the relevant authorities, though, many victims feel that sharing their experience via the social media forum allows for the information to be shared more efficiently with the community. Anecdotal reports have also been shared online from incidents in Uluwatu and Ubud. 

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The common theme seems to be that men driving motorcycles, sidle up to women walking along sidewalks or alleyways, snatch and grab at the women’s bodies, before driving quickly away.

These are different attacks on those criminals who are attempting to rob high-value items such as phones or purses; reports of which are more common in Kuta, Legian and Seminyak.

There seems to be an increasing number of cases where the motive is to physically attack women, rather than steal their belongings. 

Attacks have happened to women who are out on a run, going for a walk, and even those who have been driving motorcycles.

There does not seem to be a trend between the attacks happening at day or night, the attacks appear to be both intentional and opportunistic.

There are suspicions amongst locals in Canggu that attacks reported in the last few weeks in the Pererenan area have been carried out by the same one or two men. 

Although deeply traumatizing, victims of assault of any kind in Bali are urged to report incidents to both the local police and local pecalang as quickly as possible.

If at all possible, and as hard as it is in the moment, documenting details such as the attacker’s clothing, facial features, and motorcycle license plate can all help police piece together the incident. 

Action can only be taken by the police if and when formal reports are lodged. Bali Police can be contacted on 110.

Alternatively, victims can contact their accommodation provider who can usually help contact the police right away or seek consular support.