Authorities in Bali have evidently been kept busy handling misbehaving tourists on the island, who seem to be popping up with increasing regularity in the past few months. Most recently, a British woman was detained briefly before she was handed over to immigration after she allegedly caused a scene in Kuta.
The woman, identified by her initials EJ, was detained on Saturday after Badung regency’s Public Order Police (Satpol PP) received a report of her throwing pebbles at vehicles passing by on Jl. Wana Segara in Kuta.
“She was in front of Shell Hotel … causing a scene and throwing pebbles at cars and other vehicles that were passing by, so the [hotel] security reported her and she was brought to Satpol PP in Kuta,” I Gusti Agung Ketut Suryanegara, who heads Satpol PP Badung, told Detik.
EJ was restless even at the station, where officers had to stop her from allegedly trying to take her clothes off, Kompas.com reported.
“She only had her passport with her and several pieces of clothing, it looks like she’s been drifting from place to place because she smells as if she hasn’t showered for days,” Suryanegara said.
He added that EJ is now with Bali Immigration, who will be discussing her case with the British Embassy.
Just last Wednesday, Satpol PP had briefly detained an Australian national, identified by his initials MGF, after he allegedly caused quite a scene in Seminyak while intoxicated.
Suryanegara, who has held his post since 2017, said that the number of misbehaving tourists have been increasing over the years. In his first year, he said there was only a handful of such cases.
“In 2018, it increased to one to two people every month, [but] in 2019 it’s a weekly case of about one or two people exhibiting disturbing behavior, going berserk or disrupting public order,” Suryanegara said.
