Balinese cops to be tried for extorting Aussie tourists

Seven Balinese police officers will face trial for extortion after allegedly extracting a bribe from a group of Australian tourists who hired a stripper during a buck's night in Seminyak.

The group of 16 Melbournites, in Bali to celebrate the engagement of marketing consultant Mark Ipaviz, were detained in June by private security guards on the pretext of "indecency" and then allegedly squeezed by the cops for $25,000.

During the apprehension, one of the group was smashed over the head with a bottle, while others were tasered and pistol-whipped.

The guards then called Kuta police, including a female translator, who turned up, told the men they could be jailed for ten years, and then drove two of the party to a cashpoint.

Bali's deputy police chief, Nyoman Suryasta, said the incident had "damaged the name of Indonesian police, especially Bali police", and promised that the officers would be firmly punished, according a report in the Sydney Morning Herald.

His words directly contradict those of Kuta's police chief, Deddy Januartha, who yesterday denied that his officers had asked for money.

In support of his claim he produced a handwritten statement "signed" by the Australians apologising for the group's actions.

"I did not pay any to for police (sic)," it read.

"I knew we were in trouble, when the police arrived and greeted the guards with a hug," one of Mr Ipaviz's friends told Fairfax in June, referring to the handover after the assault.

According to Mr Suryasta, the punishments the police will face for breaking the professional ethics code range from being forced to apologise to losing their jobs.

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald