It is a sad fact, Bali has an enormous crime problem
targeting holiday makers and residents alike. But it
seldom gets reported as people mistrust and even fear
the police. When it gets reported, the police are likely
only to act a) If they can make some extortion money
out of it, or b) If outside pressure (such as news stories)
makes them do so. You can read more about the mafia
style Balinese
Police by clicking the link. And even when they
do act, the action and result is not readily reported.
News of crime is suppressed in Bali, a good human report
on this can be found
here / click here.
Here are a list of the crimes that proliferate on Bali;
1) Pedophile Rings
Bali has a huge child abuse problem, which
has now made the Australian press, so the police are
now doing something (although something probably means
little and profit motivated).
2) Child Prostitution
Many young Indonesians are illegally married
off at 11 or 12 years old. Often this results in them
being forced into prostitution on Bali's streets. Many
hotels, including the International brand Hard
Rock Kuta tolerate questionable extra persons being
allowed into guest's rooms, which basically endorses
/ creates the problem.
3) Contract Murder
In Bali, it is possible to hire a hit man to
kill or seriously injure another human being at very
low rates. Having a local killed costs less then having,
say, a foreign tourist killed. But it is possible to
have either done.
4) Murder
Often committed by "pecalangan",
local bully boys / vigilantes who reign the streets
in the police void caused by the police officers' self-interest,
laziness and corruption. Murder is seldom reported,
but extremely rife. Neighbours kill neighbours over
petty disputes and / or theft and / or political allegiances
and then pay off the police to escape justice if they
get caught. Everything has a price in Bali.
5) Kidnappings
Gangs, often associated with gambling rings
which attract foreigners, have been known to kidnap
guests to Bali.
6) Illegal Refuse and Effluence Dumping
See our health risks page for more details,
but this has certainly contributed to an increase in
serious diseases such as cholera and malaria found in
Bali. Locals often dump their refuse / effluence around
the tourist areas to save money. But as these tend to
be the less wealthy locals, the police presumably do
not act as they have little scope for corruption.
7) Theft
From stealing your handbag to short changing
you, theft is a major problem in Bali. Some foreigners
have even been mugged and / or followed in their cars
for miles before being robbed (robbers tend to slit
a victim's car tyre at a red light and then wait for
them to pull over). Many robberies happen at night and
include burglaries by armed intruders.
8) Drive By Shootings
This happens frequently in the tourist south,
be warned. Targets tends to be entertainment venues.
9) Extortion
If you do something wrong in Bali and someone
finds out about it (or believes they can convince the
police you have done something wrong even when you have
not), they will likely try and extort money from you.
If they can not (or even if they can), they are then
likely to report you to the police who will also likely
try to extort money from you. And remember, Indonesia
has a terrible reputation for lawyers working with the
police to extort money from their own clients! Even
judges are known the widely make a decision but then
call the potential case winner to their chambers to
make a "donation" in order to be given that
judgment.
10) Civil / Human Rights Abuse
You do not need to look or search far on the Internet
to find that Indonesia has an appalling record of civil
and human rights abuse (try Human
Rights Watch - but, of course, this is just the
tip of the iceberg). Which is not surprising from a
country where the Minister for Human Rights and Justice
compared himself with Hitler!
Please remember, if you get into trouble in Bali, the
police will likely view this as a money making opportunity
not something that requires civil service. If you need
to appoint a lawyer in Bali, there are no foreign lawyers
(Indonesia prohibits this for obvious reasons), and
most are inept, corrupt or both. Please also remember
that human and civil rights abuse in Indonesia is appalling,
thanks in part no doubt to the Indonesian Minister of
Justice and Human Rights comparing himself to Adolf
Hitler (no, really, it is not a joke). And the fact
that the Indonesian government refuses to sign up to
the all important International conventions on human
rights. So there is very little or no recourse to victims
outside Indonesia, and of course none inside Indonesia.
Please do not become a victim or part
of the problem. Read:
Bali
Tourism (Should I go, where, and how do I avoid
adding to the problem / putting myself / my family at
risk in Bali?).
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