Aussie tourist Maika James Folauhola is arrested after allegedly attacking a driver while holidaying in Bali – as disturbing footage emerges of the brawl

An Australian man faces nearly three years in prison after a video showing him assaulting a local driver was sent to police.

Maika James Folauhola, a 24-year-old from Mildura in north-west Victoria, was arrested by Kuta police on Friday as she prepared to board a flight home at Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Kuta police allege that Mr Folauhola attacked a driver shortly after 10pm last Sunday.

“According to the victim’s statement, the perpetrator hit the victim five times on the victim’s head, shoulders, neck and back until the victim sustained injuries,” Kuta Police Chief I Ketut Agus Pasek Sudina told local news media.

The allegation was reported to police on Tuesday, with the Investigative Unit’s Opsnal team arresting Mr Folauhola with the assistance of airport security staff.

Mr Folauhola (pictured left with his friends and police) was preparing to board a flight to Australia when he was arrested

Footage of the incident shows a man, believed to be Mr Folauhola, standing in front of the driver’s car before lashing out and hitting the driver on his window.

Police allege Mr Folauhola told officers the car almost hit him and that he had been drinking before the alleged attack.

“The perpetrator suddenly punched the side window of the victim’s car until the victim finally got out of the car with the intention of asking the perpetrator who punched the window,” Commissioner Sudina said.

“But the victim was actually attacked by the perpetrator.”

Mr Folauhola faces a prison sentence of two years and eight months if found guilty of the alleged assault.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said it was “providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Bali.”

Police allege Mr Folauhola punched the driver on his ‘head, shoulders, neck and back’ (photo, a still from the alleged attack)