A Singapore permanent resident (PR) travelled to Batam recently for business, but ended up a victim of a violent mugging.

The man, who wants to only be known by his surname Bahara, told Mothership that he is Indonesian but has PR status in Singapore.

His wife is Singaporean and he was in Batam for business for the past few weeks, he said.

Men attacked him from behind

On Jul. 26, he was at the Nagoya Foodcourt, typically frequented by tourists, and which also happens to be near a hotel and residential area.

It was 3am and he was waiting for a taxi ride back to the place he was staying.

The area was quiet with few people around at that time.

Bahara shared that he was watching a YouTube video on his phone and was not paying attention to his surroundings.

Suddenly, he felt a hard knock on the back of his head, followed by more hits, amounting to "at least six or seven times".

"I felt numb but still conscious of what's happening," he said.

Two men then grabbed Bahara's belongings and fled on foot.

Bahara was on the ground at that time.

After several minutes, he managed to stand up in "[a] daze and [in] pain" with his shirt soaked in blood, and make his way to the food centre nearby to seek help from some cleaners and stall assistants still there.

17 stitches

Bahara was able to treat his injuries at a hospital 10 minutes away, where he had to get 17 stitches to the wounds on the back of his head.

He shared that the men had stolen all of his belongings, which included his wallet containing his NRIC, cash and credit cards, as well as his phone and passport.

Additionally, his spectacles were broken during the attack.

Bahara also suspected that the attackers' weapon of choice was a large tree branch.

A video he took in the day of the location where he was mugged showed that there is some human activity, with numerous cars parked at the nearby car park and with some vehicles passing by.

So far, Bahara has made a police report, but is uncertain about the likelihood of the police being able to trace his phone as he does not recall his device's IMEI number.

An IMEI number is a unique 15-digit serial number every phone has, which the police can use to track where the phone last made a connection to the mobile phone network.

Currently, Bahara is still in Batam recuperating from his injuries.

His family is aware of what happened, but Bahara does not "want them to worry too much".

A buddy of his is helping to take care of him at the moment, the victim said.

Following the incident, Bahara said he simply wishes to raise awareness of such potential dangers and inform visitors to Batam "that it is not as safe as it used to be".

"So avoid late stroll to dark alley, strange or non-meter taxi," he added.

Top photo courtesy of Bahara