DJ Robert Bregnsdal was travelling Japan when he experienced a nightmare that ‘completely rocked’ his world – now he is without his hard-earned life savings and is mentally scarred by the ordeal
It was meant to be the trip of a lifetime – but it ended in complete disaster for Robert Bregnsdal.
The Australian DJ had travelled to the capital of Japan to perform at a music venue in the colourful and busy district of Shibuya when he experienced the worst thing imaginable abroad. Robert was lured into a common tourist trap and $10,000 AUD (£5,200) was stolen from his bank account.
He had been drinking at another bar in Tokyo when his drink was terrifyingly spiked. He claims he was unconscious for hours while staff acted like he “wasn’t even there”. He later discovered that his bank card had been robbed and the lump sum had been taken from his account.
Robert had quit one of his jobs to concentrate on music and travelled to Tokyo in September as part of his global tour. The Melbourne-based DJ had saved thousands to fund his DJ events and cover the cost of rent, bills and car expenses while he was away. But he says all of that was stolen.
Now, he has launched a GoFundMe page to try and recoup the remaining money after his bank was only able to reimburse him $3,000 AUD (£1,500). On the post, he claims he was “shrugged off” by the bar and local police, despite reports of similar drink spiking and credit card fraud in Tokyo in recent years.
“It’s an experience that has completely rocked my world, and not only has it affected me financially, but also mentally,” he wrote. “I’ve never been spiked in my life, and do not wish it on anyone. I ended up alone hours later, waking up in the bar.. with the actual bar itself acting like I wasn’t even there.”
He continued: “I then went to the police to make a police report, and they literally shrugged at me saying they couldn’t do anything. I later found out that this is a common thing in certain parts of Tokyo. They lure you in with cheap drinks, give you a shot with it spiked, take your card and max it out.”
He added the money was “everything” he had and he felt “embarrassed” to ask for help, but could not see any other alternative. Robert said thousands of pounds had been saved to fix his car, meaning he now has no transportation to go to his events. “I had money also saved for my rent and bills,” he added.
“THANK YOU and I hope I’ll never have to do this again in my lifetime,” he finished. Robert has since travelled to Amsterdam to perform at a dance event while dealing with the huge loss of funds. He isn’t alone in his horrifying experience, with other tourists having reported similar incidents in the last 20 years.
The Government website has safety advice for Brits travelling to Japan. It reads: “There is a risk of drink spiking and credit card fraud. Victims have described waking up with no memory of what happened and discovering large amounts of money billed to their credit card.” It advises not accepting drinks from strangers or leaving drinking unattended.
