DENPASAR, An upload containing the confession of a driver regarding the case of extortion against two foreign tourists by a tour guide at Pura Agung Besakih, Karangasem, Bali, has gone viral on the social media platform Facebook. In the upload, the tourism van driver admits feeling ashamed because the two foreign tourists he escorted to the location were extorted by a local tour guide for Rp 150,000 on Saturday, July 15, 2023.
Quoted from kompas.com, Governor of Bali, I Wayan Koster, stated that the two foreign tourists who were extorted by the tour guide are citizens of Sri Lanka. “I just WhatsApped the Head of the Agency (Manager of the Pura Agung Besakih Area Facilities) and it’s true that two citizens of Sri Lanka were extorted,” he said when approached at the Bali Provincial Council Building on Monday, July 17, 2023. He mentioned that the management has already summoned the tour guide involved in the extortion incident. According to Koster, the tour guide has only received a first warning letter as a punishment. He will be dismissed from his job if he repeats the same offense.
“He has already been summoned (the extorting tour guide). There have been integrity facts, given three warnings, and if he doesn’t comply, he will be fired,” he said. “That’s the punishment, it’s local there, so there’s a connection with the management, and there’s already a signed integrity agreement given as the first warning. Then, if there’s another violation, a second warning will be given, a third warning, and if that happens, it’s done,” Koster added.