159 Students Poisoned
As many as 159 primary school students at SD No. 3 Senganan, Penebel, Tabanan, were poisoned after eating various kinds of food bought from the school canteen, on August 28. They were rushed to the Tabanan Hospital, and out of the 159 students, 65 had to stay in the hospital. One student, Gusti Ngurah Ananda, had to be taken to the ICU. Dr Gede Patra Jaya from the hospital said he could not determine where the poison came from, but had sent samples of vomit to the Food and Drugs Department in Denpasar. (Bali Post August 25)
Frenchman Tattooed, Dies
42-year-old Frenchman Joly Joel, died on August 25, having undergone a tattoo procedure in a tattoo shop in Gianyar. His body was rushed to the Sanglah Hospital to undergo autopsy, while tattoo man Wirta, 28, was questioned by the police in Ubud. According to information at the scene, Joly came to Wirta’s shop on the day, at about 2 pm, and asked to be tattooed. After one hour of doing his work, Wirta stopped and left Joly, who appeared to Wirta to have fallen asleep. When he returned, Joly was still asleep. Wirta shook his body and did not notice any heart beat. Wirta then reported the case to the police. Police said they await the autopsy result in order to determine the cause of death. (Bali Post August 26)
Umbul-Umbul Festival Held in Lapangan
Puputan Badung
Hundreds of umbul-umbul, normally used for religious ceremonies in Bali, were seen decorating the Lapangan Puputan Badung, last Friday (August 28). They are part of the Umbul-Umbul Festival, which was launched by Denpasar Mayor AA Ngurah Puspayoga. The festival was joined by 41 countries with 139 umbul-umbul. The coordinator plans to make it an annual event. (Nusa August 28)
Anand Krishna Centre Opened in Bali
The new Anand Krishna Centre, Centre for Holistic Health and Meditation Denpasar, was recently opened at Hayam Wuruk Street. The centre will be used a place to exercise meditation, and was opened by Anand Krisha himself. He was in Bali as an invitee of the Students Council of the Udayana University to lecture on culture as a part of students orientation week. Anand Krishna has also opened several centres outside Bali this year, namely in Semarang and Yogyakarta. He is also an author of over 50 spiritual books. (Nusa August 28)
Karangdalem Residents Request Compensation
Residents of Karangdalem, the owners of the beautiful view across from Hotel Alila, have demanded compensation from the hotel, which they see benefits from the view. They forwarded a formal letter to the management and asked for an increase in the compensation, from the previous Rp. 750,000 to Rp. 3 million. Gianyar tourism authority will coordinate with the hotel management and others involved in order to solve the problem. (Bali Post August 30)
National Sports Event in Palembang
A large group of participants for the national sports event PON departed to Palembang, South Sumatra, to participate in the national event, held every for years. This year PON is held on September 2 to 14, and is to be opened by President Megawati Sukarnoputri. Bali sent 222 participants, including 175 athletes, who will participate in the 29 out of the 41 sporting events. (Nusa August 31)
Not All Tickets Rp. 42,000
National airline Merpati Nusantara has launched its independence-day sale for commercial tickets, from September 1 to October 12. It offers as little as Rp. 42,000 for commercial tickets for national destinations and US$42 for tickets for international destinations. However Mentari spokesperson did claim that the offer is limited for only five seats per day for every route/destination, and only when the flight is not fully booked. Two residents from Medan said they were fooled by the ad, as they thought all tickets were Rp. 42,000. In fact, the cheap tickets will be given on a lucky-draw basis. (Nusa August 31)
Megawati Rp. 15 Billion Richer
The wealth of President Megawati Sukarnoputri in the past three years has increased significantly. According to the review undertaken by the corruption watchdog, KPK, between 2001 to August 2004, Megawati’s wealth has increased over Rp. 15 billion. According to KPK deputy Amin Sunaryadi, on March 23, 2001, when Megawati was still a vice president, the balance of her wealth was Rp. 59,809,315,484. But on August 26, the balance is Rp. 75,057,768,545. Meanwhile, the wealth of rival candidate Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono also increased by Rp. 1.1 billion, from Rp. 3.4 billion three years ago, to Rp. 4.5 billion now. (Bali Post September 2)
Locals Fear Drainage Project Disturbs Mass Ngaben
Kuta residents are worried that the ongoing drainage project will disturb the Ngaben missal (mass Ngaben). One of the coordinators, Anom Gumanti, said the project will certainly disturb the event, especially on September 23 when traffic jams will happen due to road works. (Nusa September 3)
Bali Bomber Spotted in Café
Police have responded to the news about Bali bombing convict, Ali Imron, spotted in a café in Jakarta. According to spokesperson from Polri, Irjen Pol. Paiman, Ali Imron, who was seen with police officers at the cafe, was taken there as a part of an investigation. Meanwhile Australian PM, Alexander Downer, said Indonesia had confirmed that Ali would not be released despite having been seen sipping a cup of coffee in a mall in Jakarta. (Bali Post September 3)
Kuta Karnival II to be Held
Again, Kuta Karnival will be held this year, with similar programs as last year’s. Only this time, the event will be shorter, with only 10 days (September 24 to October 3) compared to one month last year. This year’s program includes designed-cars parade, skateboard competition, fashion show, sunset dance, beach football, kite competition, “Iron Man” competition and the international food festival. (Denpost September 4)
Body of Foreigner Identified
After nearly one month, the body of a foreigner found offshore of the beach between Bali International and Puri Bali, has finally been identified. On Saturday (September 4), several people claiming to be family members of the victim came to the police station in Bualu. According to police officer Jaya Pariana, his staff sent a photo of the victim to the British Consulate, and it was finally revealed that the victim’s name is KD Mitchell. According to his maids, Mitchell went for a walk in the morning, carrying with him a black waistbag. (Nusa September 6)
Correction :
01 September Local News reported the death of a French citizen at the Harris Hotel Resort. His correct name was Philip Lavenac. Mr. Lavenac passed away as the result of a possible heart attack, not a fall, as reported in the Denpost (Aug. 14). Bali Advertiser regrets this error.
