It’s been a peculiarly troubling period of time for Singaporean tourists in Indonesia in recent days — just last week, a man got his leg chomped on by a Komodo dragon while he was snapping pictures of the venomous beasts.
Over the weekend, another Singaporean popped up in Indonesian news headlines, but with an even grimmer outcome. A 23-year-old reportedly jumped to his death from the fifth floor of his hotel in Legian, Bali, after consuming a concoction made of magic mushrooms.
Allegedly, the young man had been hallucinating from the ‘shrooms when he flung himself out in the early hours of Saturday (May 6), around 2am.
A friend tried to hold him back from jumping, but lost control and he broke free, police told local reporters.
Kuta Police Commissioner Wayan Sumara says the victim, who was a student, died instantly from the fall. His body was evacuated to BIMC Hospital.
The victim’s friend, believed to be a fellow classmate, said they had purchased a magic mushroom drink outside their hotel on Saturday evening. The victim mixed his mushrooms with orange juice, while his friend mixed his with chocolate.
Not long after, the victim said he wanted to get out and jump, but his friend tried to hold him down and prevent him from going anywhere, police said.
“The witness lost his hold on the victim, who immediately jumped into the back alley of the Akmani Hotel,” Sumara said, as quoted by Tribun Bali.
A security guard said he heard a crashing sound around 2:15 am.
“After 30 minutes, an ambulance came and immediately took him. His friend admitted to drinking mushrooms,” the security guard told Tribun.
The Singaporeans had arrived in Bali on May 5 and planned to check out yesterday.
Denpasar Police Commissioner Hadi Purnomo said that law enforcement has been taking efforts to eradicate the magic mushroom trade in Bali, but it’s been “quite tricky”.
“We have made various efforts, making raids and so forth,” Purnomo said.
Police had previously been ‘tolerant’ towards magic mushrooms in Bali, but clamped down in 2014, as shrooms were re-classified as type 1 narcotics, making them illegal.
Investigations are ongoing.
Text: Coconuts Bali
