S'porean man, 26, allegedly chokes girlfriend to death in Bali

A 26-year-old Singaporean man has been arrested in Bali after allegedly strangling his girlfriend to death in their rented house, according to CNN Indonesia.

The suspect, identified by the initials MZ, was arrested on the night of Jul. 15 at around 10pm along Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai, approximately three hours after the body of his girlfriend, identified as AS, 26, was discovered at a rental house at Jalan Mekar II in South Denpasar.

How the body was found

The victim's younger sibling, identified as RA, went to check on AS after her phone went unanswered.

The two siblings both worked at a billiards hall on Jalan Nakula, Kuta, and RA had last seen AS about a week earlier.

Upon arriving at the rental house, RA detected a strong foul smell near the gate.

Inside the room, RA noticed hair and part of a body covered with stuffed toys and became suspicious.

As RA was at the scene, MZ emerged from an adjacent room.

When asked about AS's whereabouts, he did not respond.

RA struck him with a helmet before MZ fled on a motorcycle.

Authorities later arrived on the evening of Jul. 15 and found AS's body on the floor, covered with stuffed toys and a neatly folded carpet.

According to Denpasar police chief commissioner Leonardo D Simatupang, MZ allegedly strangled AS for around 15 minutes before attempting to flee toward Sanur.

Simatupang told CNN Indonesia: "The suspect was arrested at Jalan Bypass Ngurah Rai within approximately three hours. The victim was a woman from Tegal, Central Java."

@balitv_official WNA SINGAPURA TEGA HABISI NYAWA KEKASIHNYA DI DENPASAR, PELAKU TERNYATA OVERSTAY SETAHUN Kasus pembunuhan melibatkan warga negara asing (WNA) kembali terjadi di Bali. Kali ini, seorang warga negara Singapura, berinisial MZ (25) ditangkap tim gabungan Ditreskrimum Polda Bali, Polresta Denpasar dan Polsek Denpasar Selatan (Densel) pada Rabu (15/7) malam. Korbannya, perempuan asal Tegal, Jawa Tengah, berinsial AS (26) ditemukan tak bernyawa pada Rabu malam di Jalan Mekar 2, Desa Pedungan, Densel. Menurut Kapolresta Denpasar Kombes Pol. Leonardo D. Simatupang, Kamis (16/7), dari hasil interogasi awal terungkap bahwa MZ sudah melewati izin tinggalnya di Indonesia (overstay) selama setahun. Sumber : (Kerta Negara/balipost) Video : Polresta Denpasar #KriminalBali #WNASingapura #InfoDenpasar #PoldaBali #PolrestaDenpasar #OverstayWNA ♬ suara asli - Bali TV

Heartbreak in relationship

The couple had been together for about a year.

Simatupang said initial interrogation pointed to a romantic dispute as the motive of the offence.

He said: “The preliminary motive, based on interrogation, points to a dispute in their romantic relationship.”

According to CNN Indonesia, the victim's sibling said AS and MZ had previously quarrelled twice after MZ was caught cheating.

A separate witness, identified as DP, told police she had been dating MZ for only three days after meeting him at a billiards hall in West Denpasar.

She said MZ had invited her to stay at the same rental house on Jul. 11, where she noticed a foul smell but did not ask about it. When she raised the issue with MZ on Jul. 14, he became angry and punched the wall.

Overstayed visa by a year

Simatupang also revealed that MZ had been in Bali on an overstayed visa since 2025, having originally arrived as a tourist.

The victim's body was transported to Prof Ngoerah Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar for an autopsy.

The body showed signs of decomposition, swelling and skin peeling, with no visible external wounds.

The suspect was arrested by a joint team from the Bali Regional Police Criminal Investigation Directorate, Denpasar Police Criminal Investigation Unit and South Denpasar Police Criminal Investigation Unit.