There was a dramatic attempted robbery at a moneychanger on Jl. Bypass Ngurah Rai in Kuta on Wednesday morning.
The perp came in, pretending to exchange $150, but while moneychanger employee Kristianingrum, 27, was calculating the rate, the perp pulled out a sickle.
The perp covered his face with a mukena (long dress) and held his weapon up to Kristianingrum, reports said.
“The moneychanger employee ran away and screamed for help. People started to come, when they heard the noise,” Tribun Bali quoted an unidentified police source as saying.
As people started coming, the perp fled by motorbike, but was pursued by an employee from the Indomaret next to the moneychanger.
“When the offender was passing in front of Pasar Kuta, the road was filled with traffic, so he had to drive slowly. The Indomaret employee (caught up) and started kicking the perp’s motorbike until the perp fell off,” the source said.
After falling down, the perp apparently tried to get away but was pursued further by the Indomaret employee and a crowd was starting to gather at the scene.
Furious, the perp grabbed his sickle and started waving it in the air, so people dared not approach. He fled the scene again, however, in all the excitement, he dropped a bag.
The Indomaret employee apparently took the bag to the police—who thankfully were able to track down the perp.
The incident was separately confirmed by Kuta Police Criminal Investigation Unit Insp. Ario Seno Wimoko.
“It’s true, the perpetrator has been secured. He was still an amateur. His motive was that he was desperate to get money,” Wimoko told Tribun Bali.
The perp of the attempted robbery has been identified as Toni Sucipto, of Blitar, East Java.
