Police Detains Australian Citizen Who Abused British Tourist at Ngurah Rai Airport, Bali

DENPASAR - The I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Police detained an Australian citizen with the initials PDH (59) who allegedly abused a tourist from England in the area of the International Terminal of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

"The suspect has been detained at the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Police Station since January 20, 2026 until 20 days in the future," said Public Relations Officer of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Police, Ipda I Gede Suka Artana, Wednesday, January 21.

Artana explained that until now the police were still investigating the motive for the persecution.

The persecution incident occurred on Sunday (18/1/2026) at around 23.30 Wita at a restaurant in the area of the International Departure Terminal of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport.

At that time, the victim named MW (58), a British citizen, was standing at the TRS Restaurant to wait for the departure schedule.

Suddenly, the victim was pushed by the accused until he hit the wall.

The perpetrator reported that he asked the victim to take off his glasses and suddenly hit the victim from behind, specifically on the back of the right head using his right hand clenched once.

The victim then reported the incident to the Criminal Investigation Unit of the I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport Police.

Two witnesses who were at the scene of the incident confirmed that the perpetrator had beaten the victim.

As a result of the incident, the victim felt dizzy and felt disturbed in carrying out his activities.

"The motive is temporarily suspected to be due to the mutual affection between the reported and the victim," said Artana.

Artana added that the police had taken a number of handling steps, including receiving reports, bringing the victim to be examined at the hospital, examining the victim, witnesses and the accused, conducting an investigation of the crime scene, checking CCTV footage, and confiscating evidence in the form of travel documents.

The police arrested the perpetrator under Article 466 paragraph (1) of the Criminal Code concerning abuse.