Tourist jailed over nude stunt at Bali temple
A German tourist could face time in jail after stripping naked and crashing a sacred dance performance at a temple in Bali.
The backpacker, identified by police as 28-year-old Darja Tuschinski, casually strolled up to the stage with no clothes on while the dancers remained professional and calm.
In the now-viral clip filmed earlier this week, the backpacker was filmed climbing the stairs and attempting to open a door into the temple, as a local man attempted to stop her.
After barging the door open, she was then filmed then walking down and kneeling in front of the stage, where she appeared to pray in front of horrified onlookers.
“The female foreigner went naked on the stage of Saraswati Ubud Temple owned by Tjokorda Ngurah Suyadnya AKA Cok Wah,” Bali Police spokesman Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto told local media outlet Coconuts Bali.
The bizarre stunt sparked backlash online, with one local writing, “Why weren’t you immediately given clothes and secured first? There was someone who was performing the Balinese dance … We don’t need crazy caucasians, do we?”
Another wrote, “Sad to see the behaviour of this one person.”
A third pointed out the cultural clash, writing, “Caucasians who go to Asia usually feel the most spiritual freedom (and) enlightenment … But (their) life and mindset are not in accordance with traditional Asian spiritual and spiritual values, especially in Bali.”
Local council chief Wayan Widana told another local media outlet, Radar Bali, that Tuschinski was known to suffer mental health issues and had been “brought to the Bangli Mental Institution.”
In recent months, Indonesian officials have expressed their frustrations with unruly tourists.
Ravindra Singh Shekhawat, who is the general manager for Bali operations at Melbourne-based tour company Intrepid Travel, told news.com.au earlier this year, “Recently there has been an increase in tourists not following the local laws and respecting local culture and traditions, including instances of tourists getting into heated arguments with local police for not wearing helmets or breaking traffic laws.”
Image credits: Twitter