A Bali resort, La Vie Villa, was thrusted into the spotlight recently after a Singaporean couple who was robbed on their holiday alleged that they were then threatened and harassed by the resort's staff.

The incident

The couple, Eugene Aathar and Dolly Ho, were riding on a scooter when they were attacked by robbers.

The robbers took Ho's Samsung S10 phone and the scooter that was rented from La Vie Villa.

Both Aathar and Ho were injured, but managed to get treated at a local hospital.

Aathar claimed that the villa's staff subsequently demanded 250 million rupiah (about S$23,700) for the lost scooter.

The staff apparently kept up with the pressure until Aathar paid them 12 million rupiah (about S$1,136).

La Vie Villa refutes Singaporean couple's claims

Following the publication of the couple's side of the story, the resort La Vie Villa has come out to refute Aathar's claims.

In a Facebook post on May 14, a manager from La Vie Villa said that Aathar's accusations are untrue and "deeply unfair to the hardworking staff and management" of the resort.

The manager, Dwi Permadi, said that no one at La Vie Villa told Aathar that he had to pay 250 million rupiah for the stolen scooter, adding that such behaviour is antithetical to the company's values.

Dwi also said that under the terms of contract that the couple signed when renting the scooter, they had to bear "full financial responsibility of the vehicle, including under such circumstances as theft and other instances of total loss".

According to Dwi, the final compensated sum agreed upon between all parties was much less than what Aathar claimed.

It is also considerably less than the current value of the scooter.

Dwi did not confirm if this final compensation is the 12 million rupiah (S$1,136) that Aathar claimed he paid.

Further, Dwi claimed that Aathar's accusations against the villa staff are untrue because the matter was settled in a secure setting during a consensual conversation, and the staff did not barge in nor threaten him.

You can read the resort's post below:

Greetings to all,

I am Dwi Permadi, a manager of La Vie Villa in Bali. I am writing in respectful response to the many negative comments that have been written regarding accusations made against us by a young Singporean man who unfortunately was the victim of a robbery in Bali. These accusations are untrue, and deeply unfair to the hardworking staff and management that have made La Vie Villa so great.

Firstly, please know that I and my family wish Mr. Aathar and his wife Dolly a swift recovery. What happened to them was awful, and we hope that the criminals who caused them so much pain and suffering are brought to swift justice. We continue to keep both of them in our thoughts and prayers. We wish Mr. Aathar and his wife the best, and are glad that they are back in Singapore among family, friends, and a network of support.

To set the record straight, no one from La Vie Villa threatened to keep Mr. Aathar in Bali, or anywhere else, against his will. No one told him that he must pay a sum of 250 million Indonesian Rupiah for the stolen property. To engage in such behaviors as this would be antithetical to our values. I do firmly object to these characterizations; this simply did not happen. We at the La Vie Villa have no idea why Mr. Aathar has chosen to assert this.

In addressing the loss of property with Mr. Aathar, we consulted with him extensively and ultimately agreed to a mutually acceptable price of compensation. Mr. Aathar's wife had signed a contract with us when renting the scooter that they later reported stolen. While I will not go into any details of that nor share a copy of their contract - as I respect Mr. Aathar's and Ms. Ho's privacy - the fact is that under the terms of their contract they did agree to full financial responsibility of the vehicle, including under such circumstances as theft and other instances of total loss.

I can also tell you that the sum compensated was nowhere close to the figure Mr. Aathar claims he was "threatened" with, and actually considerably below the what was the current value of the vehicle. In reflecting upon Mr. Aathar's accusations, we can only think that Mr. Aathar perhaps added a few zeroes into the sum being discussed. We do recognize it was quite a stressful time for him; perhaps something crucial was lost in translation. As we discussed these matters with him in person, in a secure setting and during a consensual conversation, we feel the characterization of "barging in" and "threatening" are, again, simply not true.

In hindsight it is clear that Mr. Aathar was perhaps in too much of an emotionally fragile state to conduct business and needed more time and care before discussing such unfortunate, but absolutely necessary, legal matters. The level of care we give to crime victims says much about our team, and we now recognize this is one area we need to more robustly develop in order to meet all of the diverse needs of our guests. To conclude, this particular matter was settled not as warmly as we would have liked, but certainly in a fair manner and to the terms of the contract Mr. Aathar's wife signed. Any statement otherwise is untrue.

We all hope Mr. Aathar is recovering well and working hard to make sure his wife is getting the treatment she deserves, too.

Myself and the team at La Vie Villa thank all of our family, friends, supporters, and fully satisfied guests. You know who we are.

Respectfully,

Dwi

Manager, La Vie Villa, Bali

Top photo collage from La Vie Villa Facebook

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