22-05-2025
Stunning court admission from Aussie man accused of sparking wild brawl at world famous beach club in Bali
An Aussie man accused of assaulting a security guard while holidaying in Bali says he's sorry for his actions as new details about what allegedly sparked the brawl emerged.
Mohamed Rifai, 27, from Sydney 's south-west, appeared in Denpasar District Court on Thursday, where he was grilled over the alleged attack outside Finns Beach Club in north Kuta on February 11.
Rifai was detained by Indonesian authorities following the alleged brawl between five Aussies and up to 15 security stuff.
He is accused of hitting security guard Made Bagus Yohanandita while he was detaining his friend John Ebid.
Footage of the alleged brawl was shared on social media with the shirtless tourists appearing to strike security guards.
Rifai, who denied the charges and claimed he acted in self defence, gave his testimony in court on Thursday.
He recalled how he had been with a group of six, including three siblings, at the world famous beach club, where they were 'ordering food, enjoying the pool and music'.
Rifai then followed Mr Ebid after his friend was escorted from the club by security.
'I said that he is my friend. Let me take him. But then they handcuffed me,' he told prosecutor Lovi Purnawan.
'I begged the security to not assault me as I was suffering pain in my hand.'
'Security pushed me until I fell down on the floor.
He said he saw security guards handcuff his friend and hit him before becoming 'more aggressive'.
'Around 10 people hit me. I was hit in the head, body and other areas. They hit me and kicked me,' he told the court.
When asked by Presiding judge Anak Agung Made Aripathi if he had punched someone, Rifai answered 'yes' but he couldn't confirm who he had hit as '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.'
The judge asked if Rifai's siblings also joined in on the incident outside the club, to which he said they had.
'Because at that time I was on the floor and hit by the security. And John Ebid was also being punched and hit,' he replied
Rifai was also whether a peace agreement had been made.
He confirmed one had taken place on February 24 at the police station adding: 'At that time I realised we had made a mistake.'
The trial continues on June 3.
Rifai remains in custody.
He faces up to five years behind bars in Indonesia if he's found guilty.
In earlier trials, six witnesses, including Mr Yohanandita, accused Rifai of assaulting the security guard.
Finns' head of security alleged the tourists attacked staff after they were asked to leave the bar.
Bali police also charged eight security guards with 'group assault' over the alleged melee.
The four other Aussies involved in the incident were not charged with Bali police deeming them to be 'witnesses' to the alleged brawl.
