The Balinese New Year passed, as always, not without incidents. Every year on the Day of Silence, there are tourists who manage to either not know the rules or deliberately ignore them. On this day, the streets are patrolled by vigilantes called "pecalang," and disturbers of the peace are more likely to end up in the police station, where they face fines and deportation.
Around 8 p.m. in Jimbaran, two 22-year-old Frenchmen were detained while wandering the streets intoxicated. When authorities attempted to detain them, they resisted and began shouting at the pecalang, so they had to be restrained. It turned out the incident occurred 50 meters from a villa rented by foreigners, so they were immediately taken back there. The tourists claimed they were unaware of the Nyepi rules, so they went out for a walk.
Another foreigner was also detained in Jimbaran around noon. He was riding a bike. The man also resisted when authorities tried to detain him. The violator was wearing only a traditional poleng sarong (a ritual cloth in black and white checks). In the video, the man appears intoxicated, his speech is unclear, and the patrol service was unable to determine his nationality. He was taken to the hospital for further investigation.
Another Japanese tourist, 33 years old, was arrested in the village of Klungkung. He confessed to the pecalang that he got lost on his way from Karangasem to Ubud. The foreigner was taken to the police station.
On this day, another special case occurred: at two o'clock in the morning from March 11th to 12th in Jimbaran, a car was stopped with a Russian woman and her family inside. The woman went into labor on that day. After the patrol confirmed that it was not a prank, the woman, accompanied by her husband and mother, was taken to Jimbaran Hospital, where she gave birth safely. Because the reason was legitimate, no penalties will be applied to woman and her family.
Among the violators were also local residents. For example, in Kuta, a man was found on the street who claimed he was heading to the mosque. He was taken to the police station for identification.
Another violator was a woman who was driving around the streets in search of a working ATM (ATMs are shut down the day before Nyepi). It is reported that all local residents violated the rules for the first time, so soft punishment measures were taken against them—community service.
It is worth reminding that during Nyepi celebrations, there is Amati Lelungan (travel prohibition). On Bali on this day, only pecalang, police, ambulance, and other emergency services are allowed to travel. No one else is allowed to go out on the streets. This prohibition must be strictly observed. Besides the fact that leaving home on Nyepi may incur serious fines, it also shows disrespect for Balinese traditions.
Sources: Detik.com, nusabali.com
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