PHUKET: Australian tourists on a bucks' party outing to Bali were pistol-whipped, tasered and forced to pay a bribe of about $25,000 to avoid trumped-up charges and threats of a 10-year prison sentence, according to a newspaper article published today.
The allegations are likely to further damage the holiday island's reputation and turn off more Australians.
Aussies were the Indonesian holiday island's bread and butter until the execution of two Australians by an Indonesian firing squad began to raise doubts in the minds of travellers earlier this year.
Since then, numbers have dipped and are likely to fall further with the latest damaging allegations.
Phuket and Bali have similar appeal. If one suffers from a setback, the other usually benefits.
The Age newspaper in Melbourne reports today that a group of 16 men flew to Bali in February for the buck's weekend of marketing consultant and former model, Mark Ipaviz.
According to two of the group, who preferred to stay anonymous, their five-day stay in Seminyak soured on the final night, February 26, when a stripper was organised for a party at a restaurant.
Within minutes of the exotic dancer beginning her routine, the newspaper reports, the private dining room was stormed by security guards brandishing guns.
One member of the bucks party was smashed over the head with a bottle, several were shocked with taser guns, while another was pistol-whipped and threatened with death, the anonymous guests claim.
One of the injured men required medical treatment for a laceration to the head.
The guards forced the Australians to hand over their mobile phones and called police in Kuta, says the report.
Held in a police cell overnight, the men were told they faced serious indecency charges that carried a 10-year prison sentence in Indonesia.
After more than 24 hours in custody, two men were dispatched to withdraw the equivalent of more than $A25,000 on behalf of the group from several different automatic teller machines in Kuta and Seminyak, accompanied by the translator and an armed police officer.
Once the bribe was paid, the men were released but the entire group missed their return flights to Melbourne, according to the report.
The allegations are likely to further damage the holiday island's reputation and turn off more Australians.
Aussies were the Indonesian holiday island's bread and butter until the execution of two Australians by an Indonesian firing squad began to raise doubts in the minds of travellers earlier this year.
Since then, numbers have dipped and are likely to fall further with the latest damaging allegations.
Phuket and Bali have similar appeal. If one suffers from a setback, the other usually benefits.
The Age newspaper in Melbourne reports today that a group of 16 men flew to Bali in February for the buck's weekend of marketing consultant and former model, Mark Ipaviz.
According to two of the group, who preferred to stay anonymous, their five-day stay in Seminyak soured on the final night, February 26, when a stripper was organised for a party at a restaurant.
Within minutes of the exotic dancer beginning her routine, the newspaper reports, the private dining room was stormed by security guards brandishing guns.
One member of the bucks party was smashed over the head with a bottle, several were shocked with taser guns, while another was pistol-whipped and threatened with death, the anonymous guests claim.
One of the injured men required medical treatment for a laceration to the head.
The guards forced the Australians to hand over their mobile phones and called police in Kuta, says the report.
Held in a police cell overnight, the men were told they faced serious indecency charges that carried a 10-year prison sentence in Indonesia.
After more than 24 hours in custody, two men were dispatched to withdraw the equivalent of more than $A25,000 on behalf of the group from several different automatic teller machines in Kuta and Seminyak, accompanied by the translator and an armed police officer.
Once the bribe was paid, the men were released but the entire group missed their return flights to Melbourne, according to the report.
What type of 'restaurant' has security guards, never mind armed ones?
Posted by Lashay on June 21, 2015 20:08