An Australian man faces almost three years in jail in Indonesia after a video allegedly showing him assaulting a local driver was sent to police.
Maika James Folauhola, 24, from Mildura in north-west Victoria, was arrested by Kuta police as she prepared to board a flight home at Ngurah Rai International Airport on Friday.
Kuta police allege Folauhola attacked a driver shortly after 10pm last Sunday.
“According to the victim’s statement, the perpetrator hit the victim five times on the head, shoulders, neck and back until he sustained injuries,” said Kuta Police Chief Commissioner I Ketut Agus Pasek Sudina. to local media.
The allegation was reported to the police on Tuesday and the Investigative Unit Opsnal Team arrested Mr Folauhola with the help of airport security personnel.
Maika James Folauhola (pictured) was arrested at a Bali airport on Friday after allegedly assaulting a driver.
Folauhola (pictured left with friends and police) was preparing to board a flight back to Australia when he was arrested.
Footage of the incident shows a man, allegedly Folauhola, standing in front of the driver’s car before lashing out and hitting the driver against his window.
Police say Folauhola told officers the car had almost hit him and that he had been drinking before the alleged attack.
“The perpetrator suddenly hit the side window of the victim’s car until the victim finally got out of the car with the intention of asking him who hit the window,” said Commissioner Sudina.
“But the victim was actually assaulted by the perpetrator.”
Folauhola could face up to two years and eight months in prison if convicted of the alleged assault.
A Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said it is “providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Bali.”
Police claim Folauhola punched the driver in the “head, shoulders, neck and back” (pictured is an image of the alleged attack)