A case of extortion at Kuta Police Station, Bali, went viral after being uploaded to social media by the TikTok account @balibackseat on January 19, 2025.
In the video, a foreign tourist in Bali, from Colombia, with the initials SGH, claimed to have been asked to pay IDR 200,000 by two police officers when reporting the loss of an iPhone 14 Pro Max.
In the short video, the Colombian tourist explained that she went to Kuta Police Station to report the incident, but was instead asked to pay IDR 200,000.
“They (the police) said IDR 200,000. I think they just wanted money for themselves,” said the tourist.
From the video, it appears that the woman was initially escorted by an online driver to the Kuta Police Station.
@balibackseat Ketemu turis colombia yg kena b*gal di bali, handphone nya hilang. Minta di antar ke kantor polisi untuk buat laporan pencurian. Laporan nya mau di bawa pulang untuk claim asuransi, tapi apakah kalau kita laporan ada biaya 200.000 ? Tolong pencerahan, bagi yg pengalaman dan mengerti. Terimakasih sudah selalu support kami ! Silahkan cek akun kami yang lain. Instagram : @balibackseat Facebook : Bali Backseat Banter Tiktok : Bali Backseat Banter #Gocarluxe #gocarcomfort #Gojek #Gojekbali #Balitaxi #Goride #ojolbali #taxionline #ceritaojol #ojolviral #gocarbali #grabcar #grabcarbali #grabcarpremium #balitourguide #fyp #foryourpage #fyptiktok #taxibaliviral #balitaxiviral #taksionline #gojekcanggu #gojekseminyak #grabcarcanggu #gocarcanggu ♬ original sound – Bali Backseat Banter 💎
She wanted to report the mugging incident in order to obtain a certificate for an insurance claim before returning to her country.
In his statement, Head of Bali Police Public Relations, Kombes Pol Ariasandy, explained that the tourist, identified as SGH, initially visited Kuta Police Station on January 5, 2025, to report the loss of a purple iPhone 14 Pro Max in the Uluwatu area.
The police at Kuta Police Station directed the report to South Kuta Police to facilitate the process. However, the foreign tourist in Bali requested that the police officer continue handling the report due to the urgency of needing an insurance claim before her return to her country.
Upon hearing the SGH’s reasoning, the two SPKT officers agreed to assist in making the report but asked SGH for IDR 200,000 as an administrative fee. SGH agreed to give the money, although she felt the request was unreasonable.
After the report was made, the two policemen took SGH to a small room inside the Kuta Police Station to hand over the money as agreed. An acknowledgment letter (STPL) was issued on the same day, stating that SGH had lost her purple iPhone 14 Pro Max on Jalan Legian.
SGH’s Testimony in the Viral Video
On January 19, 2025, a video of SGH’s testimony was uploaded to the TikTok account @balibackseat. In the video, SGH explained her experience when reporting the loss at Kuta Police Station. She said the police officers asked for money directly.
“I thought they just wanted the money for themselves. They took me to a small room and then asked me for money,” SGH said in the video.
@balibackseat Part 2. Ketemu turis colombia yg kena b*gal di bali, handphone nya hilang. Minta di antar ke kantor polisi untuk buat laporan pencurian. Laporan nya mau di bawa pulang untuk claim asuransi, tapi apakah kalau kita laporan ada biaya 200.000 ? Tolong pencerahan, bagi yg pengalaman dan mengerti. Terimakasih sudah selalu support kami ! Silahkan cek akun kami yang lain. Instagram : @balibackseat Facebook : Bali Backseat Banter Tiktok : Bali Backseat Banter #Gocarluxe #gocarcomfort #Gojek #Gojekbali #Balitaxi #Goride #ojolbali #taxionline #ceritaojol #ojolviral #gocarbali #grabcar #grabcarbali #grabcarpremium #balitourguide #fyp #foryourpage #fyptiktok #taxibaliviral #balitaxiviral #taksionline #gojekcanggu #gojekseminyak #grabcarcanggu #gocarcanggu ♬ original sound – Bali Backseat Banter 💎
The post immediately went viral and drew various responses from netizens, many of whom condemned the behavior of the police officers, especially since the incident involved a foreign tourist in Bali.
Investigation of the Police Officers Who Asked for Money
Shortly after the incident, Bali Police’s Profession and Security (Propam) team was deployed to investigate the case. They examined the two Integrated Police Service Center (SPKT) personnel at Kuta Police Station.
Head of Bali Police Public Relations Kombes Pol Ariasandy confirmed that Propam Bali Police has conducted an examination of the two SPKT personnel, Aiptu GKS and Aiptu S, who are suspected of accepting IDR 200,000 from the foreign complainant.
“Bali Police Propam has now conducted an examination of the two Kuta Police SPKT personnel,” said Kombes Ariasandy in a written statement on Tuesday, January 21, 2025, as quoted by merdeka.com.
