Australian female surfer drowns off Suluban Beach
An Australian woman, Joy Haiden, has drowned off Suluban Beach, South Kuta, on the late afternoon of Monday, April 23, 2018, while surfing. Beritabali.com quotes eyewitnesses who say the woman was staying at Nyoman Home Stay in North Kuta from where she departed for a full day of surfing at 6:00 am in the large waves conditions. Local lifeguards received a report at 6:30 pm that a tourist had drowned on Suluban Beach. The woman’s body was brought to the Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar for forensic examination. [www.balidiscovery.com April 29,2019]
Austrian diver killed, hit by boat at Bali’s Nusa Lembongan
An Austrian diver was killed off of Bali’s Nusa Lembongan island after she was hit by a boat on Monday afternoon. Klungkung Police spokesman Nyoman Sarjana confirmed the incident on Tuesday, telling local reporters that it happened near Jungutbatu Village at the mangrove forest, around 1:45pm. Nusa Lembongan is a small island off of Bali’s east coast, popular with divers and snorkelers.
The victim, identified by Tribun Bali as 35-year-old Kerstin Korinek had been on a dive with the boat Serendipity, including the boat’s captain, I Made Sunada, a boat crew, I Gede Atmika Yasa, two other foreigners, and two guides. Just minutes into the dive, crew saw Korinek had deployed a ‘safety sausage’, an inflatable diver’s tool used to indicate that she was coming up the surface, so the Serendipity approached to pick her up, says Sarjana. But suddenly a boat from Lembongan Dive Adventure allegedly came from the west, directly hitting Korinek. “Seeing that, a fellow (diver) called Zinggl shouted and crew saw the water was a reddish color, mixed with blood,” Sarjana said, as quoted by Tribun Bali. Crew evacuated an unconscious Korinek, who had an open head wound, to the Serendipity and rushed her to mainland Bali. “The victim was immediately sent to Surya Husadha Hospital Bali in Denpasar to get medical treatment, but at about 6:35pm, the victim was declared dead by the hospital,” Sarjana said.
Nusa Penida Police is doing an investigation into the woman’s death and a crime reconstruction. The captain of the Lembongan Dive Adventure boat, I Kade Ricahyana has been secured by Nusa Penida Police for questioning, while police are interviewing witnesses. The captain has not yet been charged with any crime, but police are considering whether he could be charged with violating 359 of the Criminal Code which covers negligence causing death, says Sarjana. Water Police and the district attorney’s office are also investigating the incident. [Coconuts Bali April 24, 2018]
A second Australian has died while surfing in Indonesia
Along with the tragic death of Australian musician, Jae Haydon, near Bali’s Uluwatu this week, another Australian surfer has drowned off the shores of the Indonesian island. Fifty-five-year-old Anthony Lines’ body was found at Playgounds Wave on Nusa Lembongan a small island off the southern coast of Bali just to the north of Nusa Penida. There’s a lodge in the area known as Playgrounds Wave Lodge but it was not immediately known if Lines was staying there. His friend, fellow Australian Jason Henderson, apparently found Lines floating about an hour and a half after they went out. Lines was rushed to a nearby medical center but was pronounced dead on arrival.
Authorities were informed by medical examiners that Lines–who reportedly hails from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast–had minor injuries “including bruising and blisters on his face and there were specific signs of drowning.” Other than that details are still sketchy as to the cause of his death. Lines perished within the same 24-hour time period as Haydon, who, according to reports, went missing around 7:30 a.m. at Uluwatu. After falling on a wave, his broken board washed ashore with no sign of Haydon. Images of the board were shared on social media to try and find out whose it was. Haydon was located about 12 hours after his disappearance. [The Inertia April 26, 2018]
Spanish tourist drowns at Nusa Penida after saving wife and two sons from strong currents
A 53-year-old Spanish national, Francisco Miguel Garcia Perez, drowned on Saturday, April 28, 2018, at Secret Beach at Nusa Lembongan as he swam to save his wife and two children who were being swept away by strong currents. According to NusaBali, the tragic incident occurred shortly after noon. Perez and his family were guests at the Lembongan Cliff Villas at Nusa Penida. Intent on enjoying the beach and surrounding oceans, the family rented two motorcycles to leave for Secret Beach, arriving at their destination at around 11:00 am.
At around 11:30 am, Perez’s wife and two sons were suddenly swept out to sea by a strong current. Perez swam to their assistance managing to pull his family to safety on a passing fishing boat, but, tragically, became exhausted in the process and was himself carried out to sea where he subsequently drowned. The fishing boat also managed to retrieve Perez and brought him to shore where he was pronounced dead at a local community medical center. The Spaniard’s body was taken to the Sanglah General Hospital in Denpasar for forensic examination. [www.balidiscovery.com April 29,2019]
Perth man Alistair Larmour in custody after ‘abducting’ son in Bali
A 15-month-old boy is being reunited with his mother in Bali after allegedly being abducted by his father, a self-described former Perth spiritual healer. Andrew Larmour was today found safe and well after his mother Agnieszka (Agnes) Krzysztofowicz had claimed her ex-partner Alistair Larmour had taken him during a late-night home invasion. It’s understood Andrew will be reunited with his mother at a police station today.
Ms Krzysztofowicz and Mr Larmour live in Bali and are embroiled in a custody battle after becoming estranged last June. Ms Krzysztofowicz hired child recovery specialist Col Chapman and told The West Australian on Thursday that she feared for her son’s safety. “The hours since (Andrew was taken) have been the worst of my life,” she said. “He is a small baby who must be terrified by the whole situation. Every minute counts to get Andrew back home.”
Yesterday, Mr Larmour posted a video to Facebook defending his actions as the “only option” and claiming he “just wanted to be a dad”. “I just wanted to make the point that Andrew is happy and healthy and that he’s fine, I’m fine,” he said. “I haven’t seen Andrew in 10 months and I’ve been trying to come to an agreement for visitation rights. “This is what it took to get Agnes to actually talk to me. “I felt really cornered and that this was actually the only option left to me.” Mr Larmour said he and Ms Krzysztofowicz were now at the negotiation table.
Ms Krzysztofowicz alleges Mr Larmour stormed into her home near Ubud on Sunday night with a second man, who took her son from his bed. She said the men then fled in a nearby car. Ms Krzysztofowicz said she had not seen Mr Larmour since June and said their son was unfamiliar with his father. She said her son had a fever and chicken pox on the night he disappeared. Ms Krzysztofowicz and Andrew are Polish citizens.
On his website, Mr Larmour describes himself as a mystic, spiritual healer and medical intuitive. He talks about his previous battles with schizophrenia, drugs and alcoholism. He grew up in Melbourne but moved to WA, where according to his website he spent two years as secretary on the WA board of Alcoholics Anonymous. [The West Australian April 20, 2018]
Australia boy, 12, runs away to Bali using family credit card
The boy, who ran away from his Sydney home after a row with his mother, had previously visited Bali on holiday with his family. Australian police were investigating on Tuesday how a 12-year-old boy managed to fly alone to the Indonesian island of Bali and spend four days at a resort using his parents’ credit card.
The boy ran away from his Sydney home after a row with his mother, flying first to the Western Australian city of Perth on budget airline Jetstar and then on to Bali, according to commercial broadcaster Channel Nine. “He just doesn’t like the word ‘no’, and that’s what I got, a kid in Indonesia,” his mother, Emma, told Channel Nine in a programme that aired late Monday. “It’s too easy, it’s way too easy. There’s a problem in our system,” she said, calling for tighter controls on air travel by young people.
The family had previously visited Bali on holiday and Emma said her son had already tried to book flights there on his own but had been knocked back by airlines because he did not have a letter from her. “We screamed, we begged for help (from Australian authorities) for weeks on end,” Emma added. “When the first attempt to Indonesia took place, we were told his passport was going to be flagged.” The boy, who “wanted to go on an adventure”, said he was told by airline staff this time that he did not need permission from his parents to board the flights. He spent four days in Bali, where he said he checked into a hotel, hired a scooter and drank beer before a friend alerted his mother to a geotagged video of himself playing in a swimming pool. The holiday cost his parents Aus$8,000, according to Channel Nine.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said they were first notified that the boy might try to leave the country on March 8, before being told he might be in Bali on March 17. The boy was found by Indonesian police the following day. His parents then flew to Bali to take him home. The federal police said an alert to prevent international travel had not been placed on the boy, and it did not have the power to cancel or request the cancellation of a passport if there were no suspicions of crimes committed. “The AFP will work with partner agencies to review the circumstances of this matter and current operating procedures, to ensure this type of incident does not occur again,” an AFP spokesperson said in a statement. [Agence France-Presse April 25, 2018]
Three foreigners arrested on Jl. Dewi Sri suspected for multiple instances of theft in Kuta
A group of three Algerians believed to have engaged in pickpocketing on multiple instances in Kuta were arrested Monday on Jl. Dewi Sri, Legian. The arrest was triggered after local woman Ni Komang Sintariani, 30, reported to Kuta Police her phone was stolen from her bag at a bakso food stall on Jl. By Pass Ngurah Rai, Kuta on Saturday evening. Based on the report, police went to the warung to collect statements from witnesses and look through CCTV footage-which is what they say led them to discover three foreigners had been involved.
Police tracked them down to Jl. Dewi Sri and then coordinated with security at restaurants in the area, especially those crowded with tourists to look out for the three. “Security from Pepe coordinating (with police) shared that there was also a case of a missing bag. Their actions were also recorded on CCTV,” Bali Post quoted an unidentified source as saying. Warung Pepe is a popular Italian restaurant on Jl. Dewi Sri. Kuta Police Criminal Investigation Chief Ario Seno Wibisono confirmed the arrest of the three foreign nationals but says police are still investigating. [Coconuts Bali April 26, 2018]
ATM robbery of Rp. 1.8 Billion in South Bali
NusaBali reports that 3 armed-guards working delivering cash to ATMs in Bali were overpowered with a toxic liquid in the parking area of Bank Central Asia in Mumbul, Nusa Dua on Wednesday, April 25, 2018. The semi-armored delivery truck operated by PT Andalan was in the process of delivering Rp. 1.8 billion to be placed in an ATM machine at the BCA Bank.
The robbery occurred at 10:30 pm when a vehicle pulled up behind the truck carrying cash and the assailants sprayed an undetermined toxic liquid on PT Andalan employees I Gede Mahardika (50), Komang Antoni (27) and Mikael Bagu Koro (24) a security guard. Immobilized by the toxic substance for an estimated 10 minutes, the group of robbers made off with Rp. 1.8 billion held in five bags. The modified Luxio van with a large safe installed inside had been making rounds delivering money to ATMS in Denpasar before proceeding to Mumbul where they were assaulted and robbed.
Analyzing CCTV footage, police believe the robbers numbered more than three and used two vehicles in the robbery, an Innova and an Avanza. Police believe the robbers followed the van from Denpasar. Police officials have criticized PT. Andalan for doing cash replenishment at night without first coordinating with the police beforehand. [www.balidiscovery.com April 29, 2019]