30 soldiers run amok at Bali airport

DENPASAR, Bali: Some 30 soldiers from the Armored Vehicle Panzer Platoon of the Udayana Military Command's Cavalry Company stormed Ngurah Rai International Airport on Thursday evening, ransacked a taxi company's booth, and beat up two taxi driver in an apparent act of retaliation after one of their friends was involved in a brawl with a taxi driver a few hours earlier.

Udayana Military Command's spokesperson Lt. Col. Bambang Budi Lelono confirmed the incident on Friday, saying that the platoon members allegedly involved in the incident were all currently being questioned by the command's intelligence division before the case is transferred to the military police.

"We will take stern action against them if they are proven guilty," he said on Friday afternoon, adding that the platoon's commanding officer had submitted a detailed report on the incident.

The door of the taxi company's booth was damaged and both drivers, Wayan Sudarma and Anak Agung Diana, sustained multiple injuries during the 10-minute attack.

The attack also created frenzy among dozens of passengers, who had just arrived at Ngurah Rai International Airport's Arrival Terminal, where the taxi booth was located.

It all started when a taxi belonging to the Ngurah Rai taxi company was involved in a minor traffic accident with the Panzer Platoon's Pvt. A Sajiron at Jl. Kediri in Kuta, just a few dozen meters from the platoon's headquarters.

Both sides gave conflicting reports on the traffic accident. The 28-year-old taxi driver Nyoman Sudarma claimed that Sajiron hit him first in the face, while Sajiron reported that it was Sudarma who punched his cheek before zooming off in his taxi to the airport.

"He delivered four punches, which all missed me, before he jumped onto his motorbike and rode away to the platoon's headquarters," Sudarma said.

Other members of the platoon later learned about the incident, and according to officer Bambang Budi Lelono, they spontaneously went to the airport's taxi booth.

"Sudarma was there and he challenged the platoon's members. Things got very emotional and soon the military personnel began ransacking the booth," Bambang Budi Lelono said. Y--JP