Australian arrested in Ubud over alleged assault, escalation from dog peeing at restaurant

The scene of the crime, Warung Coconut in Ubud. Photo: Warung Coconut/Facebook
The scene of the crime, Warung Coconut in Ubud. Photo: Warung Coconut/Facebook

An Australian man has been taken into police custody in Ubud and could get two years behind bars after he allegedly assaulted a Balinese man on July 6. Ubud Police just disclosed the incident to the public at a press conference on Wednesday.

It all went down one morning when Aussie Michael David Sode was taking his six dogs out for their daily walk, off leash, police said.

Things are understood to have escalated quickly when one of Sode’s dogs urinated at the small restaurant known as Warung Coconut, peeing on a chair, sofa, and some of the coconuts.

I Made Wena had been visiting his son, the owner of the place when he saw the urination unfold.

Wena reprimanded Sode for his dog’s peeing at the restaurant and tried to get the dogs out, which the Australian apparently didn’t handle well. The two eventually ended up in a physical altercation, with Sode ultimately beating Wena, Ubud Police said at the press conference.

The Balinese man was injured on the lip and had to get two stitches, police stated.

Wena filed a report with the police over the incident, which led to Sode’s arrest on July 21. He has been named as a suspect and remains in police custody.

The Australian did not resist arrest and has confessed to pushing and hitting the victim, according to police.

“He has taken responsibility for his actions. The perpetrator is subject to Article 351 of the Criminal Code with a maximum penalty of two years and eight months,” Ubud Police Chief Comr. Made Raka Sugita explained, as quoted by Bali Post.

This is not the first time that one of Sode’s dogs peed at Warung Coconut, says the victim’s son, Putu Eka Sukmana Ananda.

The dogs regularly pee on the restaurant’s sofa and coconuts, Ananda told 9News Australia.



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