Aussie groom-to-be’s last bash with the boys turns into nightmare

It was meant to be the last bash with the boys — but what they thought was going to be some harmless fun in celebrating a groom-to-be’s last moments of singledom soon turned into their worst nightmare.

A group of 16 Aussie men flew to Bali to celebrate the buck’s weekend (Australian equivalent of a stag do/bachelor party) of marketing consultant and former model Mark Ipaviz, The Age reported. According to the report, the men were “pistol-whipped, Tasered, and forced to pay a bribe of AU$25,000” in order not to be charged and escape a possible 10-year sentence. 

The men were apparently staying in Seminyak. On their last night in Bali, they supposedly organized a dinner in a private dining room and one of the men had arranged for a stripper to come by. The men reportedly told the group that he had sought permission from the resort manager and was given the green light.

However, within minutes of the stripper beginning her dance routine, the men were confronted with private security guards. The nightmare began. One of the men was smashed over the head with a bottle, others were Tasered, and one was pistol-whipped and even received death threats. 

The Aussies were forced to hand over their mobile phones which the guards used to call the police. The police soon arrived and immediately took them to the police station and held them in a cell until a translator arrived. They were then ordered to pay a fine, and not to bother with calling the consulate because they would spend months in prison before any trial was held.

The group purportedly withdrew more than AU$25,000 (about Rp 250 million), and were released as soon as they handed the money over to the police officers. However, the ordeal caused the men to miss their flights back to Melbourne.

Although Ipaviz declined to make further comments, the trip supposedly had tainted many of the men’s opinion of Bali, with most of the group unlikely to return to the island anytime soon.

This incident is likely to heighten concerns regarding security amongst Aussies travelling to the island, many of whom have already expressed an intent to boycott Bali due to the recent executions of Bali Nine Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran for drug-trafficking. 

Photo: Illustration
 



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