The two officers were arrested alongside the Russians and are likely to lose their jobs, pending the outcome of disciplinary processes
The officers – identified as Ernest Esmail and Yopita Barinda Putri, both 24 – are accused of working with two Russian men to intimidate and extort travellers at dozens of locations across the island between January and July this year.
They were arrested in late July alongside the Russians – Iurii Vithcenko, 30, and Ilia Shkutov, 32 – following an investigation triggered by the violent assault of a Lithuanian tourist in Jimbaran on July 10.
According to Parlindungan, head of the Bali Immigration Regional Office, internal disciplinary procedures are already under way and the pair are likely to be terminated pending the outcome of the legal process.
“Following a detailed review by the police chief, there will definitely be an ethics hearing, and the sanctions will be very serious. Dismissal? That is certainly a possibility,” Parlindungan said in response to a reporter’s question on Friday, as quoted by local news outlet Kompas.
