An Australian man known as Keith Thomas Coughlan was found dead on his knees in a ditch on Jalan Bumbak, Banjar Anyar Kelod, Kerobokan Village, North Kuta, Bali, on Sunday 24th July 2022 morning at around 5:10 am local Bali time
“He died in a ditch, presumably out of control because at the place we found him, there were marks of a collision on the gutter wall,” said Head of the Public Relations Section of the Badung Police, First Police Inspector I Ketut Sudana, on Sunday.
From the information gathered, seven bottles of beer were found at the scene of the crime. Based on this finding, Coughlan was suspected of being heavily intoxicated.
Coughlan was found wearing a black t-shirt, dark blue short jeans, and black casual shoes. He was killed when he was hit by a motorbike.
“His position was under a motorbike and at the time of the incident there were no witnesses who saw it, so the victim did not get help,” explained Sudana.
He added that Coughlan’s body was first discovered by a resident of the Banjar Anyar Kelod, Kerobokan Kelod Village, named I Wayan Sumertha at around 5:10 am local Bali time. Sumertha was passing the scene from the west when he saw something amiss.
However, Sumertha said that he didn’t know whether the man was alive or dead when he was discovered. He went on to explain that he did not dare to look after he found two legs with a motorbike in the ditch.
“At that time, I didn’t dare say whether he was dead or not. I didn’t dare, I just looked at it with a flashlight and then I didn’t see it a second time. I’d better report it right away,” he said.
Shortly after finding the body in the ditch, he contacted the Banjar Anyar Kelod officer, Wayan Rudita. After several checks, the officer then contacted the North Kuta Police.
At around 06.30 am, North Kuta Sector Police officers arrived at the scene. Soon after, an ambulance from the Badung Regency Regional Disaster Management Agency arrived at the scene and took Coughland’s body to the Sanglah Central General Hospital in Denpasar.