What started off as an exemplary vacation in the island of Bali, soon turned into a British couple's worse nightmare as 69 year old Rameshkant Ruparelia found himself on the receiving end of an unprovoked assault. On a holiday at the exclusive five star Mulia Resort in Nusa Dua, Bali, Rameshkant and wife Kirti are now stranded in a foreign country, with the former nursing three broken teeth, 23 stitches, and a determination to actively pursue justice against his violent aggressor. With no assistance or support from either the local authorities or the British Consulate, they see all the more reason to make their plight heard.
Asian Voice reached out to the couple, and spoke to the victim as he revealed that it was a normal Sunday, and being an insulin dependent diabetic, he had just taken his injection and needed to eat something. On going down to the breakfast dining area of the luxurious hotel, he found a lack of service due to which he went ahead to serve himself. “Suddenly this... woman, seemingly European or Australian passed a comment saying that 'some people don't have any manners whatsoever'. I replied to her saying I am a guest in this resort too, and that is when she began to verbally wind me up. Frustrated after a bit of arguing, I asked her to shut up,” Rameshbhai said.
“And that is when I unexpectedly felt a huge blow on my face from behind, where her husband was standing. It instantly broke three or four of my teeth, and I wear partial dentures on the bottom so that broke as well and engraved into my lips. He had caught in directly on the mouth and it had begun to bleed. The Resident Manager, Sonny Koenjoro, just began to play it down as this is a five star hotel and he did not want bad publicity.”
Reluctant to call the police considering the severity of the situation, he called a nurse who immediately asked him to go to a hospital to get himself checked. While one would assume the worst was over as Rameshkant and Kirti rushed to the hospital, it was there on that their real struggle began. After spending the entire day at the hospital, spending a £1000 and getting a couple of stitches on the mouth, they returned to the hotel and inquired about the guest who had criminally assaulted Rameshkant. Koenjoro flatly refused to give them information on the man and woman who attacked him, making excuses that they had no clue who they were. When asked if he could at least call the authorities, the manager again refused saying he won't call the police to the hotel. He advised Rameshkant to go to the police station himself and register a personal complaint.
The pensioner then went to the station, where he miserably found just one English-speaking officer, who informed him that the hotel's manager should have called them when the assault took place. On calling the manager to the station, he refused to come and instead sent two-three security guards themselves. Rameshkant and Kirti were made to sit in the station, answer the same questions repeatedly for over four hours. Later, the police officer advised them to approach the British Consulate, stating that they won't find any help in the local station.
Mildly relieved thinking about the presence of a consulate whose basic idea is to serve British citizens in Bali, Rameshkant unfortunately found himself subjected to the same kind of interrogation and disinterest as he experienced with the locals. A lady who talked to him asked him, “Why are you calling me? What can we do for you?” Rameshkant replied saying he is a British citizen and that he needs their aid. He gave all his personal information, when she suddenly passed him over to a local-born person working for the council. She again asked all the same questions, none resulting in a definite solution.
Rameshkant said he and his wife have spent two days trying to find some relief, £1400 in medical supplies- with no guarantee that he would recover. He has also sent two emails to Conservative MP Victoria Prentis, expressing his situation, and has failed to receive a proper response. The manager meanwhile, continues to deny knowing the assaulter.
