Australian Mohamed Rifai accused of bashing security guards at Finns Beach Club in Bali
A security guard injured in a wild brawl outside a popular Bali beach club has pointed the finger at an Australian man.
National
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An Australian man has been accused in a Bali court of bashing security guards in an unprovoked attack during a wild brawl at a posh beach club.
Two security guards from Finns Beach Club pointed the finger at Sydney man Mohamed Rifai while taking the stand in his assault trial in Denpasar’s District Court.
A security guard claimed that Mr Rifai attacked him as he was helping put cable ties on the hands of one of the accused attacker’s friends in the club’s car park.
But Mr Rifai, who faces up to five years’ jail if found guilty, claimed that “it wasn’t me”.
Footage of the violence, which included vision of a man being attacked with a bollard, went viral when it was posted online.
Mr Rifai was not charged in relation to the bollard attack, but was hit with charges of assault on a security guard that caused him to loose teeth.
Made Bagus Yohanandita told the court that he was helping a colleague detain an Australian man when Mr Rifai attacked.
“At that time, the defendant suddenly come and hit me. I don’t know what happened later as I fell and was faint,“ Mr Yohanandita said.
When pressed by the prosecutor if he was sure that it was Mr Rifai who had hit him, he replied: “Yes, I feel really sure. He is the one who hit me.”
The security guard said that he remembered Mr Rifai’s distinctive stomach tattoo.
Mr Yohanandita said he woke up later in hospital after being knocked unconscious.
“I got injuries in my head and my mouth, and I lost my teeth,” he said.
A second security guard, Gede Ngurah Alit Sujana, said that he was only two metres away when he saw Mr Rifai hit his colleague.
“I am so sorry, at that time when I saw Yohana was hit, I ran,” Mr Sujana said.
Chief security Nyoman Mertayasa said that he did not see the incident allegedly involving Mr Rifai because he was dealing with a fight inside the club.
That dispute between one of Mr Rifai’s friends and a Singaporean man sparked a wild, all in brawl involving five Australians and 15 security guards.
Mr Rifai denied that he had hit the security guard, saying that the situation was “chaos”.
“I don’t remember whether it was me as when the incident happened,” Rifai said.
Mr Rifai denied he was drinking alcohol at the time of the incident on February 11.
When asked if he was the one who attacked Yohanandita, Mr Rifai said: “It wasn’t me”.
Mr Rifai was supported by his father, who was wearing a white linen shirt.
His father declined to comment when approached while he was having a cigarette outside court.
The case was adjourned on Wednesday, with Mr Rifai to return to court on May 15.
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