‘Let’s go, bro!’ Australian tourist suspected of triggering wild Bali brawl

Singapore/Jakarta: Police in Bali are searching for a man believed to be an Australian tourist after a wild brawl outside a beach club on Tuesday night.

Four security guards were injured in the fight with a group of shirtless men, local media reported, with one guard suffering “bite wounds” and another taken to hospital with broken teeth and a head injury.

A video of the fight outside Finns Beach Club in Canggu shows the combatants hitting each other with pieces of wood and throwing punches. At one point, one of the tourists strikes a security guard with what appears to be a bollard.

As the brawl eases into a stand-off, a man wearing shorts and a backpack is heard yelling across the divide: “C’mon! Let’s go, bro!”

Bali police are still looking for the three tourists seen in the video plus one other. Their nationalities have not been confirmed, but the Bali Sun, quoting police spokesman Ipda Putu Sukarma, reported that an Australian man allegedly started the chaos.

According to a police report from one of the security guards, the man, identified only as LD, bumped into a woman at the next lounge bed.

“The incident triggered LD’s emotions, leading to a heated argument,” Sukarma said.

The guard’s statement alleged LD then began “strangling” another guest.

“Security intervened to break up the fight, but LD responded by making obscene gestures towards them,” Sukarma said.

Efforts to remove LD did not go well, and the situation escalated 15 minutes later in the car park.

“They launched a brutal attack before fleeing north towards Jalan Pantai Berawa,” Sukarma said.

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was aware of reports that “an Australian may have been involved in a fight in Bali”.

“We stand ready to offer consular assistance to any Australian citizen should they request it,” a spokesperson said.

Sukarma told this masthead on Thursday that investigators did not know the brawlers’ identities and were still looking at CCTV footage.

While the details of this incident remained vague, foreigners behaving badly is the troublesome flipside of Bali’s economically important tourism industry.

The Bali government last year implemented a $15 tourist levy as a “filter to get quality tourists”, as well as to boost coffers for much-needed repairs. At last count, only about half of the visitors were paying the levy.

Finns is one of a number of Bali beach clubs growing in popularity, where tourists enjoy drinking from swim-up bars, dancing to DJs and flaunting beach bodies.

The club made news in Bali last year when it staged a fireworks show while a religious ceremony was taking place a few metres away on the beach. Management apologised.

Earlier this month, another club called Atlas, offended locals by using imagery of a Hindu deity during a DJ set. It was also forced to apologise.

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