Rise of gangs in Bali targeting foreigners

Smoke

oh shit I ride with them every few weeks.Even a few other forum members have met them at one of my parties.

balinews

Behind Bali's sunshine and beaming smiles lies a sinister secret: The rise of violent gangs that are increasingly targeting westerners. In the next few weeks, Juan Delgado* will sell his portfolio of Bali properties and, against his better judgment, hand $US120,000 to the same thugs who a few months earlier invaded them and threatened him with death. Meanwhile, Susi Johnston will keep her stunning villa in Canggu, but only after it too was violently invaded by gangsters who threatened her and tore up her possessions as she locked herself in the study. She won't pay a cent. In fact, the instigators - the estranged nominee she used to buy her property and the man who hired the gangsters - will face a criminal trial. Johnston knows of about 100 similar cases in which attempts have been made to separate expatriates in Bali from their properties. And she - a widow living alone in the house she built with her husband - is the only one she knows of who has had the local contacts, the will and the luck to win the battle. Both Delgado and Johnston came face to face with one of Bali's darkest secrets: the pervasive, and growing, power of gangsters known as preman - literally "free men". These steroid-munching mafiosi, who take ritual Hindu weapons as their logos and their style cues from the military and outlaw motorcycle gangs, belong to a growing number of groups that sometimes clash violently on Bali's streets. A lucrative area of specialisation for these gangsters is property repossession, sometimes involving force, and particularly aimed at Westerners. But that is just one of their revenue streams. Gangs also provide the flint-eyed young men working the doors of Balinese nightclubs. If you find yourself inside Kerobokan prison, they may beat you up or try to get you hooked on drugs. If you run a business, they may extort money from you, using threats of violence. Read more: The dark side of the sun

tintin

Glad to read that Susi finally prevailed. What a woman! :adoration:

matsaleh

Susi is again having problems with agents marketing her house for sale illegally. If you have a Facebook account, check Susi's FB page.

Markit

matsaleh wroteSusi is again having problems with agents marketing her house for sale illegally. If you have a Facebook account, check Susi's FB page.

I did but was unable to find anything with ref to to a house sale. I sure hope she is one of those people that thrive on confrontation and strife cause she sure has more than her fair share.

matsaleh

All the posts are dated 6 August, Markit. You need to scroll down the page a bit and yes, I agree, she must be one tough cookie, with nerves of steel.

spicyayam

The listing the agent put on rumahdijual.com is still up, but it says the house is no longer available "SUDAH LAKU / TIDAK TERSEDIA LAGI"

samsiam

It is a stunning house....

Georgie

I met a Preman a few months back, was a surreal experience. My husband got a call from one of his friends who is a Traffic Polisi and they were chatting about catching up, turns out we were in Denspasar the same time as him (we all work in Kintamani), hadn't seen him in months so decided to drop in and meet him at the Police Headquarters, met at the back to have a coffee. The Police Chief and some Detectives come out to have their coffee, hubby gets chatting with them, small talk (Balinese humor) etc and then the talking leads to a legal problem we had with an expat, the Detectives were interested as they knew the expat and were investigating him (wont get into that). Then the police Chief says "Do you want me to call a Preman (sounds like Freeman)?" Huh?, we weren't sure what he meant. Then he insisted we stay to meet his Preman as we might know him he is from Kintamani. We had to get going but you kinda don't want to leave when you are being told to stay by the Police Chief. So, we wait, more coffee, small chat and then arrives this Big Bald headed Balinese guy. Introductions are done, he explains since the Police Chief is a good friend of his and we work in Kintamani and his home village is in Kintamani he should come and meet us as there aren't many Bule's up there (actually, we are the only ones). He explains he was a lawyer, was married to a Canadian woman, lived in Canada, came back after the divorce and decided to change roles. He said that the legal way is always the best way but he is there to help if we want it any time, and to be aware that if we paid him to help us that the other parties could also pay, and it can just go back and forth until one party backs down or worse, so his advice always just try the legal way. Interesting, as we weren't looking to hire, just chit chat over coffee. We left thinking "what was that all about?", we will meet at hubby's friend house from now on. Nice guy though.