Perth man Lachie Hunt suffered motorbike accident in Bali after claims he’d been mugged

A young man whose $24,000 medical examination was paid for by sympathetic Australians who thought he had been mugged in Bali slavishly admitted to local police that his injuries were caused by a fall from a motorcycle on a night out.

Perth man Lachie Hunt spent six days at BIMC Kuta Hospital with a broken leg, bleeding on the brain and a suspected spinal fracture earlier this month.

A friend set up a GoFundMe page, suggesting that Mr. Hunt had been viciously attacked at the holiday hotspot, with more than $24,000 donated for his medical bills.

However, Daily Mail Australia can reveal that when Bali police investigated Mr Hunt’s claims and spoke to witnesses on the night of the alleged mugging, they discovered that he had instead sustained injuries in a motorcycle accident.

Police have since released a video in which Hunt reads from a piece of paper, sitting next to his mother Mel, stone-faced, with bandages around his ankle, knee and a brace around his neck.

“I had an incident in Bali because I fell off a motorcycle,” he admits in the hostage-style video.

“I had lost my memory for two days due to a concussion, I was in the hospital for six days due to the injuries I sustained.”

Hunt said he was offered to speak to the Australian media, but “because Bali is my second home, I didn’t want to put a bad name on Bali.”

“All the Australian media articles that went viral were incorrect and twisted,” he continued.

‘This happened because I did not make any statement to the Australian media.

‘The reason GoFundMe was created was for friends and family to help pay the hospital bill.

“I had in no way intended for this to go viral and be picked up by the Australian media.”

Hunt, who was supposed to leave Bali, said he could not set the record straight at the time of the reports because he had suffered memory loss and was unconscious.

Bali police chief public relations commissioner Satake Bayu said a witness saw Mr Hunt allegedly driving the scooter at high speed while allegedly drunk at around 4am on January 12.

The witness claimed that after going over a pothole, Mr. Hunt lost control and fell to the ground, causing him to lose consciousness. He later woke up with a “face full of blood,” police claimed.

Bayu said that Mr. Hunt had initially told police that he had dropped his phone while on his way home, and when he went to pick it up he felt “pushed by an unknown person”. He didn’t remember the night anymore.

The police commissioner said ‘no elements of theft were found’.

“We hope Bali tourists use social media wisely and don’t easily believe fake news that may give a negative image of Bali,” he said.

‘Bali Police ensure the safety of tourists so that tourists feel safe and comfortable visiting the island of Bali that we love.’

Bayu said Hunt did not know who initially claimed he was assaulted and that police will investigate the matter.

It is not clear whether sanctions will be imposed on the person who gave the “false information”, police said.

The alleged mugging of Mr Hunt made headlines in Australia earlier this month.

A friend had written at the fundraiser that it “sounds like he’s been mugged and beaten up pretty good.”

It’s pretty bruised all over. He is at BIMC Bali hospital receiving the best care, but the best care is very expensive. So asking if you can help in any way to go deeper would be very helpful and would mean a lot to the family,” the fundraiser said.

His mother flew in from WA to be at his bedside while he recovered.

Prior to the accident, Mr. Hunt was a Bali regular, posting numerous photos of himself at luxurious resorts throughout the island paradise on his social media accounts.

In an October post just three months ago, Hunt revealed his hopes of moving to Bali permanently.

“Someday I will be able to call this place my home…” he wrote alongside a photo of himself walking down a busy street in Kuta.

Daily Mail Australia understands that Hunt and her mother left Bali on Tuesday.