A 57-year-old American man was arrested in Kuta over the robbery of a convenience store.
A reminder as good as any that you can’t pigeonhole thieves in Bali to a certain nationality or age.
But the man, PAH, didn’t make off with that much from the shop, just a measly Rp 176k.
Apparently, PAH went into the shop on Sunset Road in Kuta on Feb. 16, wearing a helmet and mask, pretending to buy chocolate.
When he went to the counter to checkout, PAH suddenly pulled out a knife and robbed the cashier—there was only one employee on duty at the shop at the time, according to reports.
The incident was reported to Kuta Police by the cashier. Kuta Police’s Criminal Investigation Unit said that at first, they had a difficult time identifying the perp. Even though they had him on CCTV footage, he had covered his head with his helmet and most of his face with a motorbike mask, and even hid his motorbike license plate with black plastic.
But the cashier did suspect the thief was a bule, because of the man’s physique, and noted he was wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt.
However, color us incredulous, police somehow found the guy. Police claim they happened upon PAH when conducting a patrol on Thursday morning they randomly saw someone matching the characteristics of the Sunset Road robber, crossing the street. They pulled the man over and found he was carrying a knife, which they believed to be the weapon the man wielded when allegedly robbing the convenience store.
Police arrested PAH and say they confiscated the man’s American passport and the clothes he was wearing during the alleged crime.
Kuta Criminal Police Insp. Ario Seno Wimoko confirmed the story to local newspaper Tribun Bali and says police are still developing the case to determine if PAH performed similar criminal actions around other locations in Bali.
“We’re still investigating whether the perpetrator acted in a number of other places in Bali,” Wimoko told Tribun.
Here are some of the more ‘out there’ instances of foreigners getting caught stealing in Bali in recent history:
French guy caught stealing motorbike from Bali McDonald’s says it was just a ‘joke’
Watch: Algerian tourist caught stealthily stealing bag on CCTV, suspected of stealing 10-16 other times in Bali
Russian arrested after allegedly treating himself to surfboard at Kuta shop
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