Badly behaved tourists in Bali should be sent home, governor says
A couple are facing an online backlash after splashing themselves with holy water
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Badly behaving tourists in Bali should be sent home, according to the island’s governor.
Wayan Koster told local media that foreign tourists violating holy sites could be asked to leave the Indonesian island.
His comments follow the case of an Instagram influencer couple that were filmed splashing themselves with holy water at a temple.
Sabina Dolezalova and Zdenek Slouka, from the Czech Republic, were visiting Bali’s Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary.
In the now-deleted video, Mr Slouka is shown lifting the skirt of Ms Dolezalova and splashing water on her bottom.
The clip garnered many angry responses from Indonesians when shared by local Balinese politician Arya Wedakarna.
“In the future, if there are tourists behaving like that we should just send them home, they are being disorderly coming to Bali. We will give them this warning,” Mr Koster said in a statement.
Mr Koster added that the Balinese government and community should play a role in protecting the island’s holy places popular with tourists.
In a second video shared by Mr Wedakama, Mr Slouka and Ms Dolezalova were seen apologising for the incident, saying that they “didn’t know it was holy water”.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments