Bali taxi driver arrested for threatening American tourists

By Hoang Vu January 8, 2024 | 10:57 pm PT

Surfers carry their board past chairs and umbrellas along Kuta Beach near Denpasar, Bali, on March 14, 2023. Photo by AFP

A taxi driver in Bali was arrested after video footage showed him threatening two foreign women with a sharp knife.

In the three-minute video which circulated on social media in Indonesia, the tourists first asked the driver to take them to the Potato Head Bali hotel. They offered to pay IDR50,000 (US$3.20) but he demanded a fare of $50.

The women repeatedly asked the driver to let them out of the car. However, the driver refused and locked doors and electric windows so that the tourists couldn't seek help from passers-by.

The women screamed for help and threatened to call the U.S. embassy.

The confrontation ended with the tourists being able to exit the vehicle and seek assistance from police.

Indonesia National Police said in a statement late last week investigators need the victims to file a report to the police to proceed the legal process.

The charges will be filed against the driver after the victims file the report to the police, Antara News Agency reported.

The police are set to charge the suspect with extortion and threat under the Criminal Code with a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.