Brandon Joseph, 30, is reported to have assaulted a taxi driver Herlindo Emmanuel Nino, 31, on the popular tourist island of Bali leading to a large brawl and his arrest
A British tourist was attacked by crowd with makeshift weapons after a fight with a taxi driver and was then arrested by police.
Brandon Joseph, 30, reportedly assaulted Herlindo Emmanuel Nino, 31, at a car park in the Badung district of the holiday island of Bali on May 15. The cabbie was said to have tried offering Brandon a ride but was allegedly met with two unprovoked blows to the face. It is claimed that Mr Joseph had got out of a white van and looked “confused” before the altercation. “The perpetrator hit the victim again on the lip until the victim’s front teeth broke,” a police spokesman told Indonesian news outlet detikBali.
Several other Indonesian drivers in the area swarmed Mr Joseph who was forced to retreat inside a van. Chaotic footage shows the shirtless Brit squaring off with a mob of locals before he was forced back with the crowd then pelting the van with stones and made threats with planks of wood.
A voice was reportedly heard saying: “Don’t damage the car. Please don’t damage my car, sir, this is my car. If there’s a problem, it’s with the guest.”
At the same time, Mr Nino was seen in a red shirt in the video with blood coming down his face and then later police arrived to control the furious crowd.
AKP I Ketut Sukadi, spokesman for the Denpasar Police, confirmed the incident saying that the taxi driver had “suffered several injuries”. He said: “There was an assault against an online taxi driver committed by a foreign national from the UK in the Savaya parking area.
“The attack happened at 8:30 am. At that time, the tall and muscular British citizen had got out of the car and looked confused so the taxi driver offered him a ride. However, without saying a word, the tourist suddenly punched him in the face. As a result, he suffered several injuries.”
AKP Agus Dharmayana, South Kuta police chief, said Mr Joseph was taken to the Bali Jimbaran Hospital to calm down. He was then due to be taken to the police station for interrogation.
Police said they were investigating the cause of the clash. The British tourist had reportedly been staying in Canggu, an area popular with holidaymakers which is famous for its six-mile long beach.