CANGGUWEEKLY
No.319/10Mar-17Mar2023
PoliceEnraged,147ForeignersinFinedforUsingFakeLicensePlatesonMotorcycles
CommissionerStefanusSatake BayuSetianto,onTuesday (3/7/2023).
namelynothavingadriver's license,notwearinghelmets, andviolatingtraffcsigns.
DENPASAR,Policeareangry withtheactionsofforeigners whoridemotorcyclesusingfake licenseplatesthatevenappear bizarre.Inpoliceenforcement, 147traffcticketsweregivento
theforeigners."Thetypeof violationisdominatedbytheuse oflicenseplatesthatarenot appropriate,"saidtheHeadof PublicRelationsoftheBali RegionalPolice,Police
Heexplainedthatmanualfnes weregiveninatraffcoperation sinceFebruary22.Thetargeted locationswereseveraltourist placessuchasKuta,Canggu, Bedugul,Lovina,Kintamani, andNusaPenida.Besides usingfakelicenseplates, foreignerswhowerecaughtin theoperationweremostly violatingtherulesofnot wearinghelmets.Theyused fakelicenseplates,even thoughthemotorcyclesthey rodewererentals. Inadditiontoforeigners,the policealsofned220local residentsforvariousviolations,
Bayuemphasizedthatthis operationwillcontinueuntilno moreforeignersarefoundriding motorcycleswithfakelicense plates."Localresidentswho violatetherulesarenotexempt frombeingtargeted,"hesaid.
Healsoaskedmotorcyclerental ownerstoprovideeducationto foreignerswhowillrentvehicles toobeyalltraffcrules."They (foreigners)arestillnotfamiliar withthetraffcrulesinour country,"hesaid.
ASyriancitizen,Mohammad ZghaibbinNizar(31),was detainedattheimmigrationoffce inDenpasar,Balionsuspicionof havingafakeIDcard.Zghaib admittedtohavingafakeIDcard afterpayingRp15millionto someonewhoclaimedtobean offcer."Hehasspentatotalof aroundRp15million,"saidI WayanDharmaNaGara, Zghaib'slawyer,onThursday (9/3/2023).
TheSyriannationalcametoBali forahoneymoonwithhis
fancée,whoisaFilipinocitizen. ThetwoarrivedinBalion December29,2022.InBali, Zghaibwantedtoopenabank accountsothathecouldeasily makepaymentswhileinBali, suchasenteringtourist attractions,usingonline transportation,andorderingfood. However,Zghaibcouldnotspeak Indonesian.Throughan IndonesiancitizennamedN whomheknewfromanapp,N thentookZghaibtothebankto openanaccountandasavings book.ZghaibthengaveNRp8 million.Butwhenhewasatthe bank,Zghaibdidnotunderstand therequirementsforopeningan accountexplainedbythebank offcer.
NthenofferedtohelpZghaib throughhisunclewhowasalso anoffcerwiththeinitial"P".
Zghaib,N,andPthenmetata governmentoffce.Lateritwas revealedthattheagencywas thePopulationandCivil RegistrationOffceofDenpasar City.However,Zghaibstilldid notknowwhattheoffcewas for.
Intheoffce,Zghaibwasasked toundergosecuritycheckson thegroundsofbeingsuspected asaterrorist."Hewasalso scannedforhiseyes,retina, fngerprints,andphoto,"saidNa Gara.Severaldayslater,Zghaib receiveddocumentsonhis phone.Thecontentswerehis IDcardandfamilycard. Meanwhile,hisnamechanged
toAgungNizarSantosowithan addressinSidakarya, Denpasar.Zghaibwassurprised becausetheIDcardandfamily cardwerealreadymadeforhim. WhenhemetwithPagain,he wasthreatenedwithproblemsif hedidnotaccepttheIDcard andwasaskedforanotherRp7 million.NaGaraasked immigrationtoprovidelegal certaintywhetherhisclientwas guiltyornot."Wehavesent letterstotheheadofDenpasar immigration,theMinistryofLaw andHumanRights,andthe ombudsman,"hesaid.Healso planstoreporttothepolice."My clientisjustavictimofnot understandingthesysteminthis country,"NaGaraconcluded.
PoliceoffcersatNgurahRai InternationalAirport apprehendedaFrenchwoman earlierthisweekforallegedly causingadisturbanceinthe airport'sinternationaldepartures
woAlgerianmenwerearrested overtheweekendforstealing travelers’belongings,includinga laptop,aniPad,andapassport attheNgurahRaiInternational Airport.
Thetwosuspectsareidentifed bytheirinitialsHR,49,and AHB,28.Thepairtoldthe authoritiesthattheywere fnanciallystrugglingandhadto resorttothecrime.
AirportPolicechiefIdaAyu
terminal.
Accordingtoreports,EM,a30year-oldwoman,arrivedatthe airportonMondayataround9:30 pmandintendedtotravelto SingaporewithKLMRoyalDutch Airlines.However,shechanged hermindbeforecheck-in, claimingthattheplanewasnot safe.
Airportoffcialsdirectedhertothe immigrationcheckpointtocancel herticket.Thefollowingmorning
Wikarnitisaidinapress conferenceyesterdaythatthe twomenwenttotheairportlast Fridaypretendingtobrowse ticketstofyhome,onlytolater sneakintotheinternational arrivalsareatofndtheirtargets.
DindaKarin,33,hadjustarrived fromDubaiat10pmwhenshe realizedthatherbagcontaining hermobilephoneandclothes wentmissing.
Later,thetwosuspectsalsostole
at8am,EMreturnedtothe airporttopurchaseanother tickettoSingapore,thistime withAirAsia,scheduledfor2:35 pm.
EMclearedallsecurity checkpointsandimmigration deskswithoutanyproblems untilaround11am,whenshe begancausingasceneata coffeeshop.Severalfemale policeoffcersandairport offcialswerecalledtohandle thesituation,andEMwas
apassportbelongingto RussiannationalSvitoslavS. Fomenko,20,andalaptopand aniPadthatbelongto AmericannationalLeila Simone,19.
Intotal,policesaidthethree victimssuffered IDR131,500,000(US$8,508)in losses.It’snotyetknown whetherornottheitemshave beenreturnedtotherightful owners.
eventuallyapprehendedafter attemptingtofee.
ShewasthentakentoProf.Dr. IGNNgoerahDenpasarHospital (alsoknownasSanglah Hospital)forpsychiatric treatment.Policesuspectthat EMmayhavebeensuffering fromdepression,whichmay havecontributedtoherbehavior attheairport.
“Whenthesuspectscommitted theirthirdactoftheft(on Simone),wealreadyhada reportfrom[Dinda].Wechecked theCCTVandeverythingwas clear,”saidIdaAyu.
PoliceinBaliurgetouriststoputonatopwhiledrivingmotorbikesforhealthanddecency
FromSaturdaytoSunday, policeticketed147motorists, themajorityofwhomwere foreigners.
Itdoesn’tappearthatanyof themwerestoppedfordriving shirtless,asthatistechnically notaviolationofIndonesia’s traffclaws.Outsideoflaidback Bali,however,wewouldn’tbe surprisedifshirtless motorcyclistsgetchargedwith publicindecency.
traffclawshavebeenongoing inBaliforyears.Thisisinpart duetotheisland’snotorious traffccongestionandthe numberofaccidentsthatoccur everyyear.
Forhealthanddecency,police urgeagainstdrivingmotorbikes shirtlessinBali
Asmuchasyoumaylove fauntingyourchiseledbeach bod,youmaywanttoconsider puttingonatopwhendrivinga motorbikeinBali,policesay.Ni PutuUtariani,whoheadsthe traffcdivisionattheDenpasar Police,saidshehasnoticedthat manyforeigntouristsridetheir motorcyclesshirtlessinBali.
“Atleastputonatop,likeatshirt,”UtarianitoldDetikBali today,addingthatmotoristsare obligedtoobservevalues
relatedtopublicdecency.“The bestoptionisforthemtoweara jackettoshieldthemfromwind, rain,andthesun’srays.”
Utarianiimploredmotorbike rentalstocommunicatetorenters thehealthanddecencyaspects ofdrivinginBaliinadditionto safetyregulations.
PoliceinBalirecentlylauncheda crackdownontraffcviolations, withspecialfocusonforeign motoristsaftertheywerecalled outonlineforvariousoffenses likeinstallingcustomlicense plates,drivingwithoutahelmet, anddrivingwithoutalicense.
AccordingtoUtariani,driving shirtlesscanexposeonetoa hostofhealthproblems, includingskincancer.Shealso notedthatitisnotuncommon fortouriststounderestimatethe intensityoftheBalinesesun, whichcancausesevere sunburnsanddehydration. Utarianiimploredmotorbike renterstoprovidejacketsfor renters,astheynotonlyshield againstthesunbutalsofrom therainduringBali’smonsoon season.Shealsoreminded motoriststoobserveBalinese customsandtraditions,which prioritizemodestyand decorum.
Policeeffortstoimproveroad safetyandcompliancewith
AccordingtodatafromtheBali PoliceTraffcUnit,therewere 17,177traffcaccidentsinBaliin 2019alone,resultingin385 deathsand17,539injuries.The majorityoftheseaccidentswere causedbyhumanerror, includingspeedingandreckless driving.
Inresponsetothehighrateof traffcaccidentsinBali, authoritieshaveimplemented variousmeasurestoimprove roadsafety,suchasincreasing fnesfortraffcviolations, installingspeedcameras,and providingroadsafetyeducation programs.
Thecallfordecencyandhealth onBali’sroadsisthelatesteffort byauthoritiestoencourage responsibledrivinghabitsand reducethenumberofaccidents ontheisland.
