Latest news with #AgungBagusPratiksaLinggih
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Fear of ‘mafia-style syndicates' in Bali grows amid spike in crimes by foreigners
A surge in foreigner-linked crime has raised fears that Bali may turn into a 'killing ground' for drug traffickers and organised crime groups, as officials and residents warn that efforts to boost mass tourism are eroding public safety and inviting the wrong kind of visitors to the Indonesian island. Advertisement Bali police recorded a 16 per cent rise in crimes involving foreigners last year – from 194 cases in 2023 to 226 in 2024 – with 108 such incidents logged between January and June of this year, according to local news outlet The Bali Sun. Local politician Agung Bagus Pratiksa Linggih attributed the issue to an influx of low-budget travellers staying long-term in unlicensed accommodations that have proliferated since the Covid-19 pandemic. 'The quality of tourists coming to Bali is decreasing,' Agung said as quoted by The Guardian. 'This is due to the rapid growth of illegal homestays, which allows low-budget foreigners to stay longer in Bali.' A police officer walks past the villa in Bali where Australian national Zivan Radmanovic was shot dead and another man injured, on June 15. Photo: AFP More than 60,000 visitors arrive on the island each day, which has a population of 4.2 million. Last year, Indonesia's most visited island welcomed over 6.3 million foreign tourists, and the provincial government hopes to surpass that figure by attracting 6.5 million this year. Advertisement But the pressure from such volumes is mounting, say locals, who fear that rapid growth without adequate controls is attracting criminal elements.
The Guardian
6 days ago
- The Guardian
As crime surges in Bali, locals are wondering: ‘are the tourists coming here getting worse?'
The demographic of tourists visiting Bali have changed since the pandemic, residents say, with a wave of backpackers, digital nomads and expats creating the conditions for a criminal underbelly to thrive on the Indonesian island famed for its peacefulness. Bali politician Agung Bagus Pratiksa Linggih said he had seen an increase in long-term visitors with low budgets in the years since the Covid-19 pandemic, and that local facilities and infrastructure were racing to keep up. 'The quality of tourists coming to Bali is decreasing. This is due to the rapid growth of illegal homestays, which allows low-budget foreigners to stay longer in Bali,' he said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Paul Werner, owner of PaD Bar and Grill in Kuta, who has lived and raised a family in Bali over the past 10 years, agreed there had been a change since Covid, with a flood of money coming into the island. 'Crime generally follows where the tourists are going. It is mainly a lot of drunk westerners not knowing how to level out their alcohol and fighting over nothing,' Werner, who lived in Adelaide before moving to Bali, said. 'Is [crime here] getting worse, or is it the Australians coming here getting worse?' In June, the island was rocked by the fatal shooting of Melbourne man, Zivan Radmanovic, 32, after men allegedly stormed his villa in Munggu with his wife hiding inside. Balinese police, who have charged three Australians with murder and allege the killing was premeditated, have said they are still investigating. Asked if it was possible Radmanovic was not the intended target, a Bali police spokesperson reportedly said detectives were 'still investigating that'. Bali's connection with Australia has long been marred by misbehaving Australians, but at times also shadowed by drugs and crime – from surfers smuggling to fund their expeditions to the trials of Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine. Melbourne man Jan Laczynski, who lost five friends in the Bali bombings in 2002, said most locals and tourists still felt safe, but that he believed organised crime was becoming more visible. 'Shootings in Bali are unheard of. In Melbourne, they happen all the time, but not here,' he said. 'People are asking how they even got the guns. Is there an underworld market forming?' Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion Indonesia has one of the lowest crime rates globally. According to Indonesia's Central Statistics Agency, in 2023, only three firearm-related crimes were recorded in Bali. Indonesia's homicide rate stood at 0.4 per 100,000 people as of 2017 – less than half Australia's rate. But Bali Police have reported a 16% increase in foreigners involved in crime – 226 in 2024, up from 194 in 2023. Offences range from cybercrime and narcotics to violent crime and land fraud. Bali social justice advocate Piter Panjaitan said locals were becoming increasingly uneasy. 'We've seen meth labs, villa robberies, crypto scams, property fraud, and ATM theft – often involving Russian or eastern European groups,' he said. He blamed Bali's open-door tourism model and post-pandemic economic desperation. 'Corruption, weak law enforcement, and easy entry make it a haven for some criminals,' he said. He called for tighter immigration checks, more training for police in tourist areas, and stronger collaboration with foreign agencies. 'We need quality tourism, not just quantity,' he said. Criminology professor Adrianus Meliala at the University of Indonesia said Bali may soon see escalating rates of organised crime. 'The demographics are changing, with more foreigners settling long-term, some bringing conflicts and criminal elements from their home countries.' Meliala said Bali could be an attractive option for criminal groups from Australia and elsewhere: 'it's close, it's cheap, and law enforcement struggles to keep up.' 'Organised crime is not just terrorism or people smuggling any more – it's broader now, and Bali is attractive economically and logistically.' About half a million tourists visit Bali each month, according to Indonesia's statistics bureau, while a growing number of digital nomads also flock to the island. The provincial government hopes to hit a record 6.5 million international tourists this year – and the island's infrastructure is racing to keep up. Munggu village chief I Ketut Darta said 400 villas had been constructed rapidly just this year – many owned by foreigners – wiping out much of its agricultural wetland. When the Guardian visited, many half-constructed buildings could be seen dotted around a landscape of paddies and coconut groves. Darta said he was concerned the rapid change and influx of foreigners could affect security in his community, where violence had been extremely rare. 'There has never been a shooting here, even fights are rare,' he said. 'We patrol our village 24 hours a day. Tourism is our lifeblood, and we must protect it.'
