An Australian tourist has apologised after admitting to stealing a bikini from a clothing boutique in Uluwatu, Bali, while on holiday with a friend. The incident gained public attention after CCTV footage showing the theft was shared on social media.
Gemma Doyle, who has around 4,500 Instagram followers, later posted a video confession on her social media account. In the video, which has since been deleted, she admitted to taking the item.
“I’m aware of the stories circulating, and it’s true. I was in one of those situations, and I was a bit stupid, and I stole a swimsuit,” she said.
“That’s all I did… I’m only human,” she added. “I’ve never stolen anything in my life, but whatever I did, it cost about 30 Australian dollars, and I just did it for fun.”
According to news.com.au, Doyle also claimed the shop owner called her “fat”. She then posted another video showing herself jumping into a hotel pool while shouting “fuck off” at the camera.
Following criticism online, Doyle uploaded a second apology video, which she said was intended to express genuine regret.
Tourist cites alcohol and medical condition
In a separate statement, Doyle said she planned to return the item and compensate the store owner.
She later claimed the incident was linked to an underlying medical condition. “I don’t want to go into too much detail, but I do have a brain injury from being hit on the head a lot,” she said.
However, Doyle also wrote in a public post that she had been drinking alcohol at the time of the incident.
She said the shop owner initially requested compensation of 1,500 Australian dollars, or about Rp18 million.
Doyle also said she had received online abuse following the incident, including death threats.
When contacted by news.com.au, Doyle said she had consumed alcohol before the incident.
@dailymailau The model warned that she intended to report the shop owner to authorities. ‘I’m reporting them back for harassment, doxing my personal information and endangering me and death threats,’ she said. Gemma also claimed the situation came about because of underlying medical conditions. ‘I don’t wanna get too much into it, but I do have a brain injury because I was hit a lot of times in the head,’ she said. ‘And I haven’t wanted to discuss this because I feel like it’s kind of embarrassing to talk about.’ She insisted she was meeting with the shop owner to return the bikini. ‘The owner is coming to meet me now and I’m going to pay her double of what was taken and also give the items back,’ she said. ‘But for everyone sending threats, insults, posting stories of me, that’s okay. I get it. I did the wrong thing.’ #bali #australia #tourist #news ♬ original sound – Daily Mail Australia
Police confirm mediation and compensation
Doyle said she returned the stolen item and cooperated with the store owner after the incident.
A spokesperson for the South Kuta Police Department confirmed that mediation had taken place between both parties.
Police said Doyle agreed to pay compensation equivalent to the value of the loss.
“The perpetrators also agreed to pay compensation equal to the value of the stolen goods, totalling approximately Rp19 million,” the spokesperson said to news.com.au.
