Surprising scenes in court between an Aussie tourist and Bali security guards involved in wild brawl at a world famous beach club

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

An Aussie tourist who faces up to five years behind bars in Bali over a violent brawl has forgiven the security guards he's accused of assaulting.
Mohamed Rifai, 27, from Sydney 's south-west, appeared Denpasar District Court on Tuesday to continue his testimony about the February 11 melee.
He and eight security guards remain in custody over the brawl outside Finns Beach Club in north Kuta which involved up to 15 security staff and five Australian tourists.
Rifai claimed he acted in self-defence while he was allegedly attacked by the security guards after they escorted his friend John Ebid from the club.
He is accused of inflicting major injuries on security staff, including Made Bagus Yohanandita, who suffered head injuries and lost several teeth.
In a surprise twist, Rifai shook hands and embraced all eight co-accused security guards in front of the judge after giving evidence against them on Tuesday.
At the end of his testimony, the judge asked Rifai, 'Will you forgive them?', referring to the guards who were also standing trial.
'Yes, I will,' Rifai said.
The judge responded: 'Please, all of you forgive each other.
During his victim testimony, Rifai recalled how by Mr Ebid's removal.
'I was in the main pool and saw my friend being taken out so I approached him (a security guard),' he told the court.
'I asked what happened and he said to let him take him (Mr Ebid) but then they did the same thing to me.'
When asked if the security used any weapons, Rifai claimed they used bamboo.
'(I was hit) in my face, my head, almost all my body,' he said.
'They kicked my stomach also.'
Rifai added he had been to Finns Beach Club 'several times' with family and friends and had 'never had a bad experience before'.
Rifai is facing five years in Indonesian jail for the injuries security guard Made Bagus Yohanandita suffered in the alleged fight
The eight security guards charged over the brawl are I Gede Laksemana Aryawan, I Gusti Putu Agus Surya Negara, Wayan Alit Junaedi, I Made Ivan Darma Saputra, I Nengah Dading Gunadi, I Gede Ngurah Alit Sujana, I Ketut Gede Mawantara and I Nyoman Mertayasa.
'I' is a common prefix used to indicate the person is a male, compared to 'Ni' which is used for women.
The court heard all eight security guards and Rifai had signed a 'peace agreement', witnessed by police, following the brawl.
The eight staff have been charged with assault causing minor injuries and each face up to two years and eight months behind bars if found guilty.
Rifai faces five years in Indonesian jail for the injuries Mr Yohanandita suffered in the altercation.
However he claims it was another security guard who laid the damaging blow.
When Rifai was asked who he hit and how many punches he threw on February 11, he said 'everything was chaos'.
'I don't remember. Many people attacked me, I just tried to defend myself,' he told the court.
'I feel sorry for what I have done because the situation was chaos at that time.'
Rifai's trial will continue on June 3.
It's understood the apologies exchanged between the parties in court on Tuesday could lead to lighter sentences if convicted.