Briton ‘flew into a rage and hit Bali cop’
Police say suspect called man a thief
JAKARTA: Indonesian police said yesterday that a Briton flew into a rage and repeatedly hit a Bali police officer over the head with a beer bottle after accusing him of being a “fake cop”.
The body of Wayan Sudarsa, a traffic police official, was found in the early hours of Aug 17, face-down in the sand on popular Kuta beach, with wounds to his head and neck, according to media reports.
Briton David Taylor, 33, and his Australian girlfriend Sarah Connor, 45, were arrested last week over the killing. The pair are suspects in the case, according to police. Under Indonesian law, charges are only laid once the case gets to court.
Being named as suspects is a step in the Indonesian legal system meaning investigators believe they have enough evidence to consider filing charges.
Mr Taylor, a DJ, admitted in questioning on Monday to having a fight with Sudarsa on the beach after accusing him of stealing Ms Connor’s bag. He hit the officer with bottles, binoculars and a phone after being pushed, according to his defence lawyer.
Giving his account of how the fight began, Hadi Purnomo, police chief in the Balinese capital Denpasar, said Mr Taylor had “searched the victim, accused him of being a thief, and called him a fake cop even though he was wearing a uniform”.
Mr Taylor got “mad” and they started to fight on the beach, with the Briton repeatedly hitting the policeman’s head with a bottle until it broke, Mr Purnomo said.
“David was hitting violently, in a rage, with the bottle,” said the police chief.
Ms Connor, a mother from New South Wales, has maintained her innocence, saying she only sought to separate the fighting men.
However Mr Purnomo said yesterday he believed that she had taken part in the killing.
A day after the policeman’s body was found, the couple checked out of their hotel and burned their clothes, the police chief said.
They had initially tried to deny any confrontation with Sudarsa and had offered a series of confusing and contradictory accounts of what had happened, he said.
They could face up to 15 years in jail if found guilty of murder.
Police have said the investigation could take weeks before the case goes to court.
Bali, a pocket of Hinduism in Muslimmajority Indonesia, is a popular tourist destination known for its tropical climate and palm-fringed beaches.
Petty crime is common but murders are rare.