Algerian national faces one-year prison sentence for stealing Chinese tourist’s belongings in Ubud

Bouzid Kherici is being sought for a one-year prison sentence by prosecutors in a session at the Gianyar District Court on Tuesday, 19 May 2026. The Algerian man was the perpetrator of theft of goods belonging to a Chinese tourist named Xiong Gang. ‘We request the panel of judges presiding over the case to impose a sentence of one year of imprisonment on the defendant Bouzid Kherici,’ said Prosecutor Keenan Abraham Siregar during the hearing at Gianyar District Court, on Tuesday, 19 May 2026. Abraham said the act of destruction occurred when Kherici acted to steal valuable items belonging to Xiong Gang. The destruction was carried out by Kherici at a locker in the Aura Dormitory House in Ubud, where he was staying in the same room with Xiong Gang. Some of Xiong Gang’s valuable items were stored in that locker. For his actions, the prosecutor says Kherici has been proven to violate Article 477 paragraph 1 letter F of the Indonesian Penal Code. ‘The theft was committed by destroying. The defendant damaged the locker where the victim kept his valuable items,’ said Abraham. Abraham noted that one mitigating factor is that Kherici has not previously been tried, although he has previously been arrested by police for a similar case. ‘The theft action originated at a guesthouse on Jalan Gunung Sari, Banjar Ambengan, Desa Peliatan, Kecamatan Ubud, Gianyar, on Wednesday (24 December 2025) at 10:45 WITA. On that day, Kherici intended to end his stay (check-out). But Kherici claimed he ran out of money. Then he saw the locker which had previously been used to store belongings by Xiong Gang, who was also sharing a room with him. ’When the defendant was going to check out, his own money had run out, so the defendant intended to take belongings of one of the visitors who shared a room with the defendant at the Aura Dormitory House Ubud,’ Abraham said in his indictment. The locker was opened by Kherici but it was locked. The lock hole was drilled by Kherici causing it to break. The locker was damaged and dozens of items and foreign currency belonging to Xiong Gang were stolen. Two days later, part of the stolen goods were taken by Kherici to Jalan Raya Sanur, Denpasar. There, all the stolen goods were sold by Kherici to a foreign resident from Syria named Muhammed for 2,500 Malaysian ringgit, or Rp9 million. ‘The defendant met a friend of his named Muhammed from Syria, and sold several of those items for 2,500 ringgit or equivalent to Rp 9 million,’ he said. Abraham said the theft was not the first time Kherici had committed such acts. The Algerian man had previously been arrested by police at Bali Green Surf, Jalan Drupadi II Number 9, Seminyak, Kuta, in 2018, for a similar case. The victim was a French national named Miles Patrick Dunne. However, the case did not reach court. It is suspected that the theft case involving Kherici ended in a peaceful settlement. ‘The defendant had previously been detained in the Kuta Police Sector’s cell for a theft case at Bali Green Surf, Jalan Drupadi II Number 9 Seminyak, Kuta, in 2018, but did not proceed to court,’ he said. (hsa/iws)