K

uta Police chief Comr. Dedy Januarta has denied that he was involved in an alleged case of money being extorted from a group of Australian tourists, as was recently reported by Australian media.

'€œThere was no extortion. I never did that. And I have reminded members of my team not to accept any money when handling a case,'€ Dedy told reporters on Monday.

Dedy, however, confirmed that a group of Kuta Police personnel had brought several Australian tourists from a restaurant in Seminyak to the Kuta Police station in February for holding a private striptease party. He said the police had gone to the venue as there had been tension between the tourists and the restaurant manager, who felt offended by the party.

'€œWe questioned them at the police station, but it was apparent the stripper was still wearing underwear. So, we could not charge them with the article in the pornography law,'€ he said.

Australian media reported that the tourists had been forced to stay overnight at the police station and were threatened with 10-year prison sentences for indecency. They were reportedly later taken to ATMs and forced to withdraw a total of Rp 250 million (US$17,800) to secure their release.