Bali Governor Guarantees Australian Tourists' Security

Denpasar (Antara) - Bali Governor Made Mangku Pastika guarantees security of Australian tourists during their visit to the Island of God. Governor Pastika made the statement here on Tuesday in connection with the current case of an Australian woman, initialed LKT (28) who had been robbed and raped during her visit in northern Bali last Saturday, April 27. Pastika has commanded the police to investigate the case thoroughly. "This incident is very worrying, thus I have to take action by coordinating with the security forces to prevent the same case to happen again in the future," he said. "And now, our duty is to find and detain the perpetrator," he added. According to Pastika, preventive and preemptive actions are very important although tourist's privacy in their villas is also important and needs to be protected without having to ignore security. "Villas located in far away and isolated places are inviting criminals. Privacy is important but security is also important and so villas must not be too exclusive and must be guarded by security guards," he said. To increase security Pastika suggested villas' owners hire local people from nearby traditional villages, or cooperate with "pecalang" (local security guards). Previously, other two Australians were found mysteriously dead and the other two were violently robbed. "I will coordinate with the police to arrest the perpetrators and we will fight all crimes. Hence, don't worry to visit Bali. We are ready to help, serve and provide the security assurance," said Pastika. (*),