Talk about biting the hand that feeds you.
A 31-year-old Indonesian construction worker at a villa project in Tumbak Bayuh Village was arrested over the weekend after he was accused of stealing AUD7,000 (US$4,673) from the owner of the property.
Mengwi Police Chief Nyoman Darsana said that the arrest came following a report filed by an Australian man named Ian Frederick Layton, 61, who kept the bills under his bed.
Layton went to his villa, which was still under construction, on Jan. 1 carrying AUD9,000 (US$6,008) bills.
Nyoman said that Layton often brought cash with him and he would ask the villa’s project manager, a Balinese man named I Wayan Ekantara Dwita, to exchange them to Indonesian rupiah whenever he needed the local currency.
However, on Jan. 1, Wayan was not at the location as he was away for the Galungan holidays. Layton spent some of the money for his daily needs and kept the rest under the bed.
“On Jan. 10 at around 3pm, the project manager returned and asked [Layton] for money to pay the builders,” said Nyoman.
“[Layton] found out that the AUD7,000 that he put inside an envelope and under the bed was gone.”
Police immediately took on the case and finally tracked down S, 32, who is originally from Jember, East Java.
S, who already served seven years behind bars in 2021 for a similar crime, was arrested in his hometown on Sunday, after which he confessed to theft. S said that saw the villa was empty in the morning of Jan. 10 and stole the money after finding out that Layton’s room was unlocked.
S used the cash to buy a motorbike, some jewelry, and for daily needs.
Under Indonesian law, S may face up to seven years in prison for theft.
