An Australian man was found dead in a Tabanan villa yesterday, police said. It is the third death of a foreigner with similar circumstances in the Island of Gods so far this year.
The lifeless body of PJD, 69, was found lying on a couch naked by two pecalang (traditional Balinese security forces) officers named I Ketut Suara and I Made Suwitra yesterday at around 5pm.
According to the police, the two pecalang were going around collecting donations from residents for the upcoming Nyepi, or the Balinese Day of Silence, which falls on March 3. Ketut and Made tried to call PJD from outside of the gates on Sunday and Monday but received no response. After noticing that PJD’s motorbike was still parked in his garage, they asked for permission from Taman Tanda Village Chief I Wayan Sukarna to enter the villa.
The witnesses were shocked to find PJD’s naked dead body on the couch with his right leg touching the floor. They immediately reported the discovery to the Taman Tanda Village.
At the time of this article’s publication, the Baturiti Police were still investigating the cause of the ill-fated man’s death. His body is scheduled to be brought to Sanglah General Hospital.
On Feb. 22, an American man identified as 62-year-old SKC was found lifeless and naked on his bed in a North Kuta villa. The police said there were no signs of violence on his body.
On Jan. 13, an Englishman identified as HW, 48, was found dead in Kuta. The Denpasar Police confirmed that HW committed suicide after battling depression.
If you or anyone you know is suffering from depression and/or contemplating suicide, you can get more information and resources from several local NGOs dealing with mental health and suicide prevention. For those of you who live in Bali, you can reach out to Bali-based Love Inside Suicide Awareness (LISA) helpline at +62 811-3815-472 (English) and +62 811-3855-472 (Bahasa Indonesia/Indonesian).
