British and American women face two years in jail in Bali for ‘attacking salon staff during row over prices’ – but claim they were ‘held hostage’ as they tried to go to an ATM to withdraw cash to pay
A pair of British and American tourists face up to two years in prison after being arrested for allegedly attacking nail salon staff in Bali, Indonesia.
The women, identified by local media as Andrea CW, 37, from London, and Chansler A, 37, from New York, allegedly attacked staff at the Ombre Nail Salon in Kerobokan over a misunderstanding over payment.
The backpackers reportedly did not have enough money to pay for any additional treatment they requested and became angry when staff tried to charge them for the service.
Shocking CCTV footage shows Chansler, wearing a bucket hat, appearing to grab a clerk by the collar and pulling her over the counter as the employee shouts “you have to pay!”
Chansler is pushed back and crashes into a table before an irate Andrea appears and intervenes, shouting at the employee: ‘Relax, I’m trying to give you the money! Relax yourself, got it?!
Shocking CCTV footage shows Chansler, wearing a bucket hat, appearing to grab a clerk by the collar and pull her over the counter
The women, identified by local media as Andrea CW, 37, from London, UK, were paraded in orange prison uniforms
An enraged Andres grabs one of the staff members and screams and protests her innocence
‘Let me tell you something. I try to be reasonable. I’ve asked you several times to let me out. I ran outside to get money. You don’t know what I’m going out for. Why did you try to take me hostage?’
The manager of Ombre Nails Studio said: ‘These customers came and asked for a treatment at our studio and were informed about the prices and everything, but ultimately refused to pay the amounts.
‘They blackmailed us that if we kept asking to pay they would leave a bad review, and they started verbally abusing our staff.
“All the evidence has been recorded and is being handled by our lawyer, and we filed a police report last night.
“They also tried to take our money at the cash register and caused bodily harm and mental shock to our staff.
“We had to get them so they could at least apologize to our staff.” Some of them are shaking and crying to this day.”
The female tourists were arrested by police on December 16 while trying to board a flight to Thailand at Ngurah Rai International Airport.
Ngurah Rai Immigration Officer Gilang Danurdara said: “The two perpetrators entered the immigration area and queued at the counter around 5.30pm.
Indonesian police escorted the two women after their arrest
The women are led away by the police. They face a maximum prison sentence of two years and eight months
Police in Bali address a press conference following the arrest of the two women
Video captured the moment Andrea confronted one of the salon employees after he was accused of not paying
“They looked suspicious because they were wearing hats and masks. There was an attempt at deception.”
Immigration officials said they compared the women’s faces to the CCTV video circulating online before handing them over to police.
Badung police chief Kompol I Made Pramasetia said: “The pair had actually planned to stay in Indonesia until December 22. They were supposed to visit Pulau Dewata but decided to leave on December 16 after the incident at the salon.”
Andrea and Chansler were charged with violating Section 1, Article 351 of the Indonesian Penal Code, which states that “assault is punishable with a maximum imprisonment of two years and eight months.”
They will also be charged under Article 335 or ‘compelling others to do something’, which carries a maximum jail term of one year.