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An Australian woman currently in Bali has revealed the moment she was “robbed and stabbed by a Balinese man” while riding a scooter with her boyfriend.

Eliza Whitford shared her horror experience on Tik Tok, explaining how the incident unfolded leaving her with a wounded leg and her valuables taken.

“Stabbed by a Balinese man on the back of a motorbike,” she says to the camera, claiming he stole her bag and wallet and all her money within it.

In the comments, she added more detail, claiming she was “pretty much was just on the scooter with my boyfriend and he came right up next to us on a bike and cut my bag off / leg in the process”.

The young Australian went on to explain that to make matters worse, while not only dealing with a wound to her leg — she’d also been bitten on the eye by a mosquito which had caused massive swelling to her face.

In the comments of the video, which has received almost 30k likes and more than 580 comments — the young traveller said she had “no idea” about the dangers of theft in Bali — especially from people on the back of a bike.

“There needs to be more awareness about the motorbike/handbag theft in Bali! It happened to me too. Someone is going to end up dead,” one person commented on the video.

“Best advice I can give to anyone is always have your bag underneath your shirt so they can’t cut the strap, so sorry this happened to you,” another added.

“I have also been robbed and ripped off the back of a motorbike,” another commented, which Ms Whitford described was “actually insane”.
Local media claim a “waning sense of safety” has been felt among both locals and travellers in parts of Indonesia, with incidents such as midday break-ins and robberies appearing to be on the rise. With the Covid-19 pandemic decimating the tourism industry in Bali and forcing people out of jobs and slumping the economy, some have questioned whether this has caused petty crime to be on the rise.

In an interview with local media outlet Coconuts, Roby Septiadi, the chief of Badung Police, said his office has received an increasing number of complaints during the pandemic, however, they cannot confirm if the increase is a direct relation to joblessness caused by the pandemic.

“We cannot ascertain this just yet, because some of the suspects that we’ve arrested, not all of them are from Bali,” Roby said.

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As with any destination, tourists should always exercise caution with their valuables while travelling abroad.

“Be conscious of your personal security,” Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) warns.

“Be aware of risks, particularly in tourist locations such as Bali and Lombok, relating to violent and petty crime; sexual assault; drink-spiking and consumption of alcohol contaminated with harmful substances such as methanol; scams and credit card/ATM fraud.”

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