Australian tourists caught on CCTV stealing money from Balinese singer
Shocking footage has captured the moment a group of tourists appeared to take money from a singer’s bag as she performed on stage at a bar in Bali.
Local singer Sartika Sitohang had left her bag on a table while she was on stage in front of an audience at an undisclosed location in the Legion District on Saturday.
CCTV footage showed a group of tourists, believed to be Australian, sitting at a table with her bag on top.
Ms Sitohang returned to find her money missing, as angry locals shared the footage looking for the group, before a woman later returned the money to the singer.
Balinese singer Sartika Sitohang (photo) allegedly had money stolen from her bag by a group of tourists on Saturday evening during a performance in a crowded bar
Ms. Sitohang claimed that she spoke and sang with the two women and three men during her performance after the group submitted a song request.
A woman wearing a green top and blue shorts is later captured rummaging through the singer’s bag and pulling out a bag.
She searches the bag before appearing to accept wads of cash as she looks over her shoulder to see if anyone is watching her.
A guitarist returning to the stage walks past the table moments later, unaware of the brutal act.
CCTV later captured the woman and her four friends laughing as they left the venue.
The images were shared online and went viral.
“She sang with these two ladies so she could actually remember their faces,” reads an Instagram post from Canggu Bali.
“She thinks they were already planning to take the money because they touched her bag before this video.
‘It happened around 9.40pm when she was singing in the bar, that table was previously her band table and her band friends were still sitting there, that’s why she left her bag behind.
“But they left while she was singing and this group came to her table. You can watch the video to see how they stole it. How dare they do it in public!’
Local reports claim the group of tourists sitting at the table (pictured) were Aussies
A devastated Ms Sitohang, commonly known as ‘Tika’, reported the incident to Kuta police later that evening.
“Please everyone, they stole my money while I was singing,” she commented on the viral video.
Ms Sitohang also described the alleged theft on Instagram that evening and how she placed her bag on a table as she rushed to take the stage.
She added that she was careless to leave her bag there, but she thought nothing of it because her friends were at the table at the time.
“I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s it, my band friend is there.’ So I thought, never mind, I didn’t think people would accept money in public,” she wrote.
Ms. Sitohang did not reveal the amount of money allegedly stolen, but said it is “a lot.”
“I never count how much money,” she added.
Five days later, Kuta police were told by Ms Sitohang that a woman had since been in contact with her.
The woman apologized and gave her money back, prompting the singer to withdraw the citation.
Sartika Sitohang (photo) has now received the money back