Foreigners deported for offensive social media posts in Bali

Markit

It aint about the posts, it's about dancing starkers under one of their holy trees and getting caught.

Juggler

Hard not to get caught when you plaster it all over the net

Balifrog

Juggler wrote Hard not to get caught when you plaster it all over the net

Exactly my thought... how can they be so stupid doing illegal stuff and bragging about it on social media, and while BEING IN THE COUNTRY ! On the other hand, remember the Abu Graib pictures .....

RossM

Juggler wrote Hard not to get caught when you plaster it all over the net

The world is not short of morons..........unfortunately.

SamD

Ok. Let's blame the Dutch. Makes a change from blaming the French. I think you are right, more going on here than meets the eye. Oh, those Russians!

AuroraB

Starting to get serious, with a tourist friendly headline "Miss Global Estonia hunted by the police..." https://indonesiaexpat.id/news/miss-global-estonia-hunted-by-police-after-calling-bali-police-corrupt/

SamD

Starting to get serious, with a tourist friendly headline "Miss Global Estonia hunted by the police..." https://indonesiaexpat.id/news/miss-global-estonia-hunted-by-police-after-calling-bali-police-corrupt/

Estonian women are beautiful. They should be allowed to say anything they like. Bali police ARE corrupt, everybody knows that. But we still love them, don't we,?

SamD

I got stopped once about 12 years ago and although it was a minor infraction, it was my own fault. I think I paid a bribe, but can't really remember. Now I am so squeaky clean the cops can't finger me for anything. I am licensed and wear a helmet and never put my wheel over the white line. Catch me if you can, officer. OK, I refuse to wear a mask because that is just plainly insane.

spicyayam

Russian yogi influencer Alina Fazleeva and her husband, Andrey, will be deported and barred from entering Indonesia for six months, after Ms Fazleeva offended Balinese Hindus by posting images of herself posing naked on a centuries-old sacred tree. Known as Kayu Putih, which translates as "white wood", the giant tree behind Babakan Temple in Bali's Tabanan district is believed by locals to be 700 years old. The image went viral after Niluh Djelantik — a prominent Balinese fashion designer and politician — posted a screenshot asking people to report Alina to immigration authorities and the police. "She should be responsible for the cost of the cleaning ceremony to be carried out by villagers," Ms Djelantik said. "Trashy tourist. Go home!" she later posted. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-09/foreigners-in-bali-find-themselves-in-hot-water-with-hindus/101040060

SamD

Maybe a more constructive response would have been to explain to them why their behaviour is not acceptable in Bali. Shouting at them, calling them trashy tourists and morons and then deporting them is not going to improve anything. Yes, yes I know everybody should carry out in depth research of the culture of every place they visit in case, God forbid, they might offend someone. But people don't. For example, not quite a parallel story but whatever, during the height of the coronavirus hysteria, a cop pulled me up for not wearing a face mask when on my bike. Instead of lecturing me or booking me, he pulled out a new mask from his pocket and handed it to me. If I had got a ticket it just would have made me mad, as it was I was more likely to follow their rules even though they are patently ridiculous.

AuroraB

Maybe a more constructive response would have been to explain to them why their behaviour is not acceptable in Bali. Shouting at them, calling them trashy tourists and morons and then deporting them is not going to improve anything. Yes, yes I know everybody should carry out in depth research of the culture of every place they visit in case, God forbid, they might offend someone. But people don't. For example, not quite a parallel story but whatever, during the height of the coronavirus hysteria, a cop pulled me up for not wearing a face mask when on my bike. Instead of lecturing me or booking me, he pulled out a new mask from his pocket and handed it to me. If I had got a ticket it just would have made me mad, as it was I was more likely to follow their rules even though they are patently ridiculous.

This issue seems to be rooted in long standing grievances; The local politician / celebrity quoted posting "Trashy tourist. Go home!" was also interviewed on the same subject a year ago in The Guardian ( https://balipod.com/forum/threads/foreigners-deported-for-offensive-social-media-posts-in-bali.13580/ ). Another interesting quote in the same article: “A Balinese writer said that such tourist behaviour is a legacy of the Dutch colonial treatment of the island. After the Puputan war in the early 20th century the Dutch promoted it as a commodity only: an exotic island, escaped heaven, and the virgin island. This is a lasting colonial legacy. They only see Balinese as tools for the tourism industry”

AuroraB

An Estonian "influencer" in hot water after making a tiktok video stating that her run-in with the local law enforcement was not a great experience. The very same local Balinese politician / fashion designer referred to by OP in this thread spotted her video and took offence, stating quote "if you don’t have evidence [regarding police corruption] you will deal with the public deception and defamation law. The punishment is jail and deportation". Oops. I do not understand how this local Balinese politician / fashion designer is able to detect all these infractions by "influencers" visiting Bali . Maybe there is a search function used in Instagram. https://coconuts.co/bali/news/estonian-beauty-queen-in-hot-water-following-social-media-rant-criticizing-corrupt-bali-police/ An Australian news source made essentially the same statements regarding the local law enforcements (article from 2015). Making the same statements online while in Indonesia risk running afoul the defamation clauses in the ITE law. https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/money/the-bribes-youll-probably-have-to-pay-in-bali/news-story/8bca987e6754d298629c56dbb8f4ca6f

AuroraB

The article linked below is a good summary. I bet most foreign tourists are not aware they even risk imprisonment for riding without helmet or without license. https://balimotion.pro/en/blog/fines-in-bali-what-are-fined-and-how-to-avoid According to the article; If stopped and (lets say) you "forgot" helmet and your license: Option 1) Admit guilt, pay maximum official fine (helmet 250k + license 1Juta) in nearest bank, go back to police and receive vehicle documents to "continue journey". Might take from a few hours if bank nearby and open or possible few days if weekend or publish holidays. Option 2) Disagree that there is a violation, go to court, may or may not pay a fine. Could take 5 to 10 days. Receive vehicle documents to "continue journey". Option 3) The only way currently to immediately continue the journey. The police could improve on the process; Allow to pay (Option 1, surat tilang biru) on the spot using on-line apps like grab or tokopedia and/or mobile visa payment terminals like police on other countries carry. So we no longer will see posts from unhappy tourists, while those still good with option 3) can carry on. I used to work my self up over traffic stops early on, but these days I just can't bother... At least something remain unchanged over the 20 odd years in/out of this region...

AuroraB

SamD wrote I got stopped once about 12 years ago and although it was a minor infraction, it was my own fault. I think I paid a bribe, but can't really remember. Now I am so squeaky clean the cops can't finger me for anything. I am licensed and wear a helmet and never put my wheel over the white line. Catch me if you can, officer. OK, I refuse to wear a mask because that is just plainly insane.

Agree on the approach: If people are squeaky clean in their home countries it is even more reason to be so here in Bali Indonesia. 1) Stick to the rules, regulations & laws. 2) Driving license, helmet and insurance. 3) Wear proper clothing as well. I'm not driving motorbike wearing flip-flops, singlet and shorts in my home country even if it is 25 degreeC outside... The outdoor mask mandate is no more (from 18th May).