Latest news with #MohamedRifai
Daily Mail
7 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Surprising scenes in court between an Aussie tourist and Bali security guards involved in wild brawl at a world famous beach club
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.
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Daily Mail
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.
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Bombshell eyewitness claims against alleged Aussie Bali brawler Mohamed Rifai who is facing five years in prison after Finns Beach Club altercation
A security guard at a popular tourist spot in Bali has described the moment he fell and fainted during an alleged brawl involving an Australian man. Three members of Finns Beach Club's security made statements in Denpasar District Court on Thursday at the trial of south-west Sydney man Mohamed Rifai who is accused of assault. A brawl allegedly broke out between five Aussies and up to 15 security staff at Finns Beach Club on February 11 when tourists are said to have attacked staff after being asked to leave. One of the security team, Made Bagus Yohanandita, described his head and mouth injuries from the incident to the court, as well as the loss of some teeth. The court heard that Mr Yohanandita saw his colleague take one of the group of Australians out of the club and helped bind his hands with cable ties. 'At that time, another foreigner suddenly came and hit me,' he said. 'I fell onto the floor and then I don't remember what happened later. I fell and fainted.' Mr Yohanandita said he 'felt really sure' that Rifai was the alleged perpetrator because he remembered the tattoo on the Australian's stomach. 'I got injuries to my head and my mouth and I lost my teeth,' Mr Yohanandita said, telling the court that he still experienced pain three months later. Security guard Gede Ngurah Alit Sujana told the court he saw Rifai hit his colleague. 'I was about two meters from him. When I saw (Mr Yohanandita) was hit, I ran,' he said. Head of security Nyoman Mertayasa also took the stand, telling the court he had been inside the club when there was an altercation between Australian and Singaporean customers. 'They were warned several times, but an altercation happened repeatedly between them,' he said. 'I decided to take one of them outside. I thought it had finished. But apparently there was another incident in the parking area.' Rifai and the security guards reportedly tried to reach an agreement during the legal process, witnesses told the court, but to no avail. Mr Sujana and Mr Mertayasa have also been detained at Kerobokan Prison as part of the nine security staff accused of 'group assault' over the melee. Rifaim, 27, denied that he was the one who hit Mr Yohanandita after the guards' statements, adding there were many people at the scene. 'I don't remember whether it was me,' he said. 'When the incident happened, the situation was chaos.' Asked by one judge whether he was drunk at the time of the incident, Rifai said he had not been drinking alcohol. Neither Rifai or his father, who attended court on Thursday, made a comment following the session. But Rifai's lawyer Sabam Antonius told reporters the court was not showed CCTV to identify who hit Mr Yohanandita. 'My client just (defended himself) because there was fighting,' he said. The matter will return to court on May 15, with more witnesses expected to give statements. Rifai faces up to five years behind bars in Indonesia if he's found guilty. The four other Australians involved in the incident were not charged after Bali police deemed them to be 'witnesses' to the alleged brawl.
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Daily Mail
Aussie man accused of sparking wild brawl at world famous Finns Beach Club in Bali makes a stunning claim about what happened - as he faces court for the first time
The lawyer of an Australian man accused of assaulting a security guard at a popular beach club while holidaying in Bali claims his client acted in self-defence. Mohamed Rifai, 27, from Sydney 's south-west, appeared in Denpasar District Court for the first time on Tuesday, two months after the alleged attack outside the Finns Beach Club in Canguu. He made no comment as he arrived for day one of his trial wearing a red prison vest over a white shirt surrounded by a large media pack. Rifai faces up to five years behind bars in Indonesia if he's found guilty. Bali prosecutor Lovi Pusnawan read out the indictment and charged Rifai with article 351 subsection one and subsection two of the criminal code. 'The defendant Mohamed Rifai's act has caused the victim to suffer injuries in the head, bruises in the mouth, and loss of his teeth,' he told the panel of judges. 'The defendant assaulted the victim causing the victim to suffer severe injuries.' Rifai said that he decided to not lodge objection over the indictment. The 27-year-old decided against lodging an objection over the indictment and didn't make any comments during or after the proceedings. Speaking outside court, Rifai's lawyer Sabam Antonius claimed that his client was the victim in the alleged incident. 'He only defended himself after he was attacked,' he told reporters. 'My client is the victim.' Mr Antonius added the job of a security guard was to protect customers and 'not fighting with members in the bar'. The trial will resume on May 8 to hear from witnesses. Rifai remains in custody over the alleged brawl between five Aussies and up to 15 security staff at Finns Beach Club on February 11. Footage of the brawl was shared on social media following the incident. The head of the venue's security alleged the tourists attacked staff after they were asked to leave the bar. The alleged incident escalated into a wild brawl with security guards in the parking lot outside. Bali police also charged eight security guards with 'group assault' over the alleged melee. Mr Rifai's mother broke her silence earlier this year to defend her son when she visited him in jail. 'They were all fighting in self defence because they were (allegedly) attacked by security first, that's all I can say,' she claimed. 'Security (allegedly) started it and they had to fight back in defence - they were trying to get out of the situation.' The four other Aussies involved in the incident were not charged as Bali police have deemed them to be 'witnesses' to the alleged brawl. Four security guards were allegedly injured during the fight. One guard had his teeth and nose broken and suffered a significant laceration to the back of his head. A second guard allegedly suffered a bite wound to his hand and cuts to his arm, while two others suffered bruising and head abrasions.
South China Morning Post
20-02-2025
- South China Morning Post
Bali club brawl with Australians leads to 12 security guards charged with assault
Published: 4:32pm, 20 Feb 2025 A recent brawl outside Bali's famed Finns Beach Club between a group of Australian patrons and security guards has gone viral on social media in the latest incident highlighting the island's issues with badly behaved tourists . While one of the Australians was charged with assault, police have now brought similar charges against 12 of the security guards involved in the fight, saying they acted beyond the bounds of their jobs. Footage of the February 11 brawl circulating on social media shows the shirtless patrons confronting security personnel outside the club, with the clash spilling onto the street and disrupting traffic. Police say the incident began inside the club when one of the Australians harassed a female patron and assaulted a guest. The five Australians were reportedly expelled by staff but then confronted security in the parking area, leading to the brawl captured on video. The club filed charges against the five men, with police eventually charging one of them, Mohamed Rifai, with assault. The other four have been questioned as witnesses.
