It’s a tradition which makes exceptions for no one. On the island of Gili Trawangan, not far from Bali, thieves are publicly punished and forced to complete ‘the walk of shame’.
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This is what happened to a tourist couple last December after they were accused of having stolen a bicycle. The local authorities arrested the couple the day after the alleged crime, after incriminating video footage taken at the hotel where the crime was committed came to light. The two tourists were then made to publicly declare their shame by walking the streets with a placard around their necks with the message ‘I am a thief’.
‘I don’t know if the police will take the case further, but the most important thing is that they are gone’, declared the village chief, Muhamad Taufik, to AFP.
The punishment applies equally to locals as to tourists. The tourists are now banished from the island and are forbidden to return for several years.
