Swedish man arrested for allegedly refusing to pay, assaulting sex worker in

Police have arrested a 44-year-old Swedish national for alleged assault against a sex worker in Bali. The man reportedly refused to pay up after their date and went on to point a gun and knife at the victim. 

In a statement issued yesterday, head of the general crimes unit at South Denpasar sub-precinct Hadimastika Karsito Putro said that the foreigner, identified by his initial D, assaulted the victim, identified by her initials AP, multiple times following their time together last month. 

“[The victim] was hit several times with a fist on the face, head, neck, and left arm. [The suspect] also choked and pointed a gun on her face, and put a knife on her throat,” Hadimastika said. 

D was arrested last Friday, while the incident itself had taken place back in March. According to reports, police found an airsoft handgun at D’s place.

AP told authorities that she was initially called up by D’s friend, identified by his initial R, to keep his friend company on March 21, just slightly before midnight. AP agreed to come for a IDR800,000 (US$55.17) fee, to which R accepted. She then left for the location with a friend, identified as L, and arrived around 1am. 

AP drank with R’s group for the rest of the night, until D took her into a room at about 6am. After they were finished, AP asked D to pay up according to the agreement she had made with R, to which D also agreed to at first. However, D appeared to change his mind not long after and refused to transfer the money, leading to an argument that eventually led to the alleged assault. 

Under Indonesia’s criminal code (KUHP), D could face up to 2 years and 8 months in prison for assault. 

Though sex work is technically illegal in Indonesia, the trade remains a flourishing industry across the country. In the statement, however, police did not go into detail about AP’s status as a sex worker.

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