Home theft issues...please comment

lise

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Nov 6, 2002
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I just got an e-mail from an expat from Ubud who was teaching at Suta Dharma. She is back in the U.S. for medical treatment because two men with machetes broke into her home and robbed her. She didn't mention what her injuries were. Anyway, is this something I need to be concerned about? My understanding was that petty theft was an issue, even home theft, but violent crime was extremely rare. She mentioned a neighbor putting bars on the windows and other expats who have security persons patrolling their grounds at night. It certainly painted a different picture than what I've heard previously. I'd like to hear your views on this one...
 

Bert Vierstra

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I am sort of "scared".

People are running out of money, slowly, so expat houses could be "victims".

Everybody knows I have expensive stuff in my house... and when my bike is not there at night.....

But what should i do ? Hire a satpam or get more locks...?

brrrrr
 

Roy

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Just to get the facts straight, this event occurred well before the Kuta bombing of October 12. This point is made, not in any attempt to justify what is completely unjustifiable, but only to put it in the proper perspective.

This woman is not alone in her experience, nor is the fact that she is a woman. About two years ago, we expats lost a good friend, Norbert, in a similar situation. Norbert fought his would be robbers, and as a result, was fatally stabbed. The safety of his wife and daughter, who were in the house at the time the robbers entered, was undoubtedly foremost on his mind.

There are several consistent facts that apply to all of the various attacks that have occurred in the Ubud area over the past three years. One of which are the villages in which virtually all of these attacks have occurred, but I am unwilling to put my name publicly on that button. The other is that in virtually all cases, the victim lived in a house, or bungalow, that was very secluded, out of ear shot if help was cried, and they (the victim), had arrived very recently, (except in the case of Norbert). Normally, violence is NOT the modus operandi of the perpetrators. Their only objective is theft. But if confronted, or challenged, they will respond with violence as they are well aware if they are caught by the local Banjar villagers, their own death is imminent, swift, and without trial.

In certain villages around Ubud, a single woman is putting herself in great peril if she rents a nice secluded bungalow in the sawahs. If awakened by a thief, in the middle of the night in these circumstances, the best chance for survival is to not react, continue to at least appear sleeping, and let the SOB's take what they want. Whatever you have in your house, or bungalow is not worth being sliced and diced to death over. They, the intruders, will not rape you (or at least that has never been reported yet), nor will they kill you in your sleep just for kicks. They only want what you have.

Any lesson here for the single, or traveling alone female? I sure hope so. Avoid spending your nights in those quaint bungalows in the middle of a sawah in the middle of nowhere, and especially now. In spite of what you hear from the Balinese, "oh, the criminal was from Java," well, that is total BS. As old Ben Franklin would say, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." :!:
 

lise

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Nov 6, 2002
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I know it was pre-Oct. 12th...

Hi Roy,

Thanks for the reply. I'm aware that the attack was before the bombing. I guess my issue is that one of the reasons we wanted to live in Bali is because we perceived it to be safer than the U.S. in terms of violent crime. Yes, I know things happen everywhere, but I don't relish the idea of going to bed every night wondering if tonight's the night we're going to get robbed...especially with a young child in the house. There will be men living in our house, I don't know if that helps? I was aware of the home thefts, my partner has reported to me about them, but I hadn't heard of any involving injury...
Considering the new situation with joblessness and hardship, It is my one worry about our move, meaning, will those sorts of situations escalate?
By the way, do you know how she was injured or how severe it was?

cheers.
 

Roy

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Personal Security On Bali

:( I did not know this woman personally, but I do know folks who did. From what I was told, and only that, she was badly cut up. You ask, "will those sort of situations escalate?" Well, I can assure you not from the person who attacked this lady. He has been "taken care of" and will not be doing this sort of thing again. I don't mean to sound flip in my answer, but who can tell what is around the corner? There are a great deal of stresses right now in Bali. The Balinese are human, and like all humans, under extreme stress, we all seem capable of things we never dreamed possible.

But, with that being said, I've never heard of a Balinese "going postal" nor have I ever heard of a Balinese shooting total strangers from the trunk of their car. As I posted already, had this lady not confronted her thieves then they would not have become her attackers. Incidents of robbery or theft seem to be increasing over the past years, but are not yet notably on the rise since 10/12. In Bali, robbery with violence has been, and continues to be a unique phenomenon associated with robberies that are challenged by the victims.

These guys are the classic "cat burglars" of the US historical 1950's and 60's. They don't want to kill anyone, and they are not seeking an opportunity to harm their targets. But, they will do anything they have to in order to avoid getting caught, as they will themselves surely die. If your abode here in Bali is secure, and you are within ear shot of others who would likely come to your aid, then I wouldn't stress about it. To be sure, I feel a whole lot more secure here than I ever did on the upper East side of Manhattan. So, as I say, I would not stress too much over this. The fact is, this lady was totally vulnerable. So, the point is, reduce your vulnerability, and have a good night's sleep. There are no more guarantees when it comes to personal safety, not even on Bali.
 

Py

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Nov 11, 2002
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'Maling' and 'home invasion': Preventive measures.

The fact is "home invasion" type crime is on the rise, this long before the grotesqueries of 10.12. There have been a few too many reported. Although not an excessively common occurrence, It is a good idea for ones peace of mind to take certain precautionary measures. There are presently at large, certain gangs of "professionals" specializing in the burglary of expat homes. These gangs usually operate in groups of about four and like most predators they will usually pick the softer target over the more difficult. These 'maling' are distinguished from the opportunists who usually work individually. The opportunist is often say a worker at a neighboring construction site. They will notice a pattern of daily behavior, wait for the right moment, scale the parameter wall and working very quickly, make off with what they can carry. The career 'maling' will operate according to a pre-meditated plan, often using motor-cycles for the getaway. Their weapon of choice is a 'parang' or a 'kris', and the customary costume, the head wrap or the balaclava.
There have been tales of the use of "black magic" involved on the these break-ins. Apocryphal or not, unsound sleepers such as young single mothers have had "clanking" items removed from right beneath their heads without so much as stirring. Another point of note is the fact that these invaders, for one primal mammalian reason or another, seem to have a predilection for leaving a big crap right in the middle of your living room.
One commonly employed technique to get at you while sleeping in a locked bedroom is the smoke or the water under your door trick. Once you run out to investigate, they have you and can thus force you to open safes or point them in the direction of any hidden valuables.

Preventative ideas:

Two dogs are good, three are much better. The reason for this is the crooks often carry poisoned meat. The larger or Alfa dog will always get first dibs, whatever is left over will go to the second in line. It is unlikely they will carry enough of this poisoned meat to successfully neutralize three dogs. You are at least left with one noise maker. To those that will at this point accuse me of an icy heart, well let me say, we are talking potentially of your life here and maybe the life of your young children.

Geese of course are a great idea as they don't eat meat, are incredibly aggressive with intruders and make one hell of a racket.

Make it a difficult job for the perpetrators. Good locks, and lots of them between you and any point of access. The more obstacles thrown in their path the less desirable you are as a target.

A hand phone with numbers of your landlord and anyone you are on good terms with from your 'kampong'. This incase they cut your landlines, you will still be able to summon the cavalry. Both a landlord and inhabitants of a 'kampong' are not going to take very kindly to the affront of interlopers with malicious intent on their turf. This is an understatement.

Buy a 'kul-kul'. This is the hanging bamboo tube 'drum with a slit opening on one side that you beat with a stick. The 'maling' alarm is a rapid, loud and even beat. This is the traditional alarm of the 'kampong and should rally a quick response.

A couple of 'penjagas' or 'satpams' are a good idea, especially if they are from your own 'kampong'. Make their 'pos' comfortable and do by all means allow them to entertain their friends there. 'Jagas' are notorious for sleeping on the job, this is unavoidable, but if you let their friends "hang out", they will be up later and it will have the advantage of demonstrating to any scouting burglars that there is a lot of 'local' activity there at night. This is not a large financial investment as you can hire a couple of lads for Indonesian minimum wage, or little more than $100 U.S. per month for both. Any accusations of colonialism here, same argument as above.

All the above said, I don't wish anyone to get the picture we are dealing with a war zone here. these phenomenon are probably less pervasive than in any large western city right now. The above are merely precautions that once taken, you can go about relaxing in the indolent and bacchanalian sensuality that was the original reasoning for choosing an obscure life in the tropics.

Hope this helps, love etc., Py.
 

Roy

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Good grief Py....for all the money it would cost for your security, I could hire a team of round the clock satpams and arm them with army surplus .50 caliber machine guns. Rambo Rama's are cheap these days! Three dogs! No way, not in my house! ;) Cheers!
 

lise

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Nov 6, 2002
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I like the idea of geese as security patrol

Geese are mean little bastards! I think we'll go with the geese.
 

Roy

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Open Letter to Bert, the FA...or something more?

Please tell me that you did not remove Py's latest post regarding home security, and my reply to it. I can't imagine in a hundred years, that THIS forum would be so unable to accept free thought and expession. Are YOU kidding? Nah, must have been a sawah rat, no way YOU would have done this....right? Please tell me it was a kentut gecko or something like that, OK?
 

Roy

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Continuing,

Bert, I alredy e-mailed you about the Centrin gremlins running amuck tonight. Ma'af...but, hey, can you change your mug? ;)
 

Py

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I like Burt's mug!

I like Burt's mug... and you gotta love a guy who pines for Schubert to light up the boondocks. Our very own Fitzcaraldo! There's an idea, forget the CD's Burt, we need an opera house.
 

marcia

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Nov 5, 2002
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Gawd, i was so focused on the messages, i never noticed his mug.
Bert, when i looked to the left of this little box, i literally jumped back on my chair. You look darned grumpy in that pic. Are you?
 

Bert Vierstra

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marcia said:
Gawd, i was so focused on the messages, i never noticed his mug.
Bert, when i looked to the left of this little box, i literally jumped back on my chair. You look darned grumpy in that pic. Are you?

Sometimes 8)
 

Gloria

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Nov 5, 2002
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Re: I like the idea of geese as security patrol

lise said:
Geese are mean little bastards! I think we'll go with the geese.

Can anyone tell me where to buy geese and how much they are likely to cost ...I do have a satpam but he is so hard to wake up when there is an unusual noise in the night...hmmm.zzzzzz, maybe I sould cook the satpam and buy uniforms for the new geese ...when I find some.....

Gloria
 

Gloria

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Nov 5, 2002
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Ringo said:
Gloria, try the Pasar Anyar I in Singaraja. Maybe Tantri can tell you what a goose does these days.

by the way, do you need the geese for security, or to wake up your satpam? :D

Ringo[/img]
Hello Ringo and all goose people...yes maybe it would be a good alarm clock for Satpam....actually heres a thought ..maybe we could have Geese wandering across the top of our forum...like the ducks on the "other one",all dressed in Satpam uniforms,carrying machine guns....oh gosh my sense of humour must be returning...must be the Supradyn.....more likely the love and support which has been sent to me during my "trial"...funny, you know what...there has been more venom directed at me than at the "accused "BOMBER...I must be a bigger threat than the person/people who killed hundreds and brought this beautiful island to its knees...Hm. G
 

Gloria

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What now we ask ourselves..

Dont want to be an alarmist but...there was a really nasty incident here in the Singaraja area a week or so ago,where a young man had his throat cut in a "home invasion",he was killed.I am told the reason was because he was gay....cant imagine that being the total reason...must be more to it I think......dont know the full details,however C.C. comforted his friend who witnessed the murder and offered further counselling if needed...makes one a bit scared when crimes of this nature are heard about......gotta get geese....not gay geese (sorry) but straight ones will do.not that I would be worried what persuasion they were as long as they carry machine guns and patrol in armoured goose cars...when on foot must be able to keep up with the goose step march and sing to Beethovens 5th...just for Bert.
 

Gloria

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Geese again

Simon / zontius from Lemuria phoned me a few minutes ago to say he is on his way here to start on the new web site with Bert...thought you may like to talk to him Ringo...are you there dear...by the way thanks for the info on goose buying...maybe Simon and I can go on a WILD GOOSE CHASE., I,m told Serririt is the goose centre of Buleleng....wish me luck I dont want to come home gooseless. enough....gotta get serious .. G..