A mugging targeting a New Zealand national in the Tuban Underpass area of Kuta, Badung, Bali, has gone viral on social media, with local police currently hunting for the perpetrator.
In footage captured by a dashboard camera on the 12th of June, the perpetrator can be seen following the victim, who was riding on a motorbike, before approaching and snatching her iPhone 17 Pro Max. The footage also shows the perpetrator fleeing towards the Ngurah Rai Statue Roundabout.
The victim, identified by her initials MBE (26), is a tourist from New Zealand. According to her statement, she was riding pillion on a colleague’s motorbike at the time of the incident. She and her male friend, identified by the initials JT, were travelling from Melasti Beach in South Kuta and heading north. During the journey, the victim was using her iPhone to check Google Maps and locate their next destination.
“JT was riding the motorbike, while the victim sat behind him holding her iPhone to look at the Google Maps application to [see the location of] her accommodation on Jalan Drupadi, Seminyak, Kuta,” said the Head of Public Relations for the Denpasar Police, Inspector I Gede Adi Saputra Jaya, on Sunday, the 14th of June.
However, during the journey, an unidentified man riding a motorbike approached the victim from the right-hand side. According to the dashboard camera footage, the perpetrator was wearing a black jacket, helmet and shorts while riding a black Yamaha NMax motorbike. The footage also showed that the motorbike used by the perpetrator bore Balinese (DK) number plates.
As a result of the incident, the victim suffered losses estimated at around Rp17 million.
“The Kuta Police have received a report and are still carrying out further investigations,” said Jaya as well.
Kuta Police have been conducting an investigation, collecting statements from the victim and witnesses, and examining CCTV footage from around the scene in an effort to identify the perpetrator. At the time of writing, the suspect had not yet been apprehended.