Aussie newlyweds robbed in Bali

DENPASAR, Bali: A burglar broke into the hotel room of an Australian couple honeymooning in Bali, making off with A$1,500 in cash and valuables, including two heirloom gold bracelets.

"This is the honeymoon we certainly want to forget. And I deeply regret that those two gold bracelets -- given to my wife by her mother -- were also missing," the 23-year-old Ron Ekbulut told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Ekbulut and his wife Mary-Anne, who were married on July 7, arrived in Bali on July 10. They were staying at the Villa Lumbung in Kerobokan, some 15 kilometers west of Denpasar. Last Thursday, the couple returned to their room and found the safety box was open and all of their valuables were missing.

Ekbulut expressed his anger with the hotel management's refusal to compensate them for their losses.

The general manager of the hotel, Komang Abdi Santosa, vehemently denied the couple's allegation that his staff were involved in the crime.

"Only the couple knew the combination of the safety box," Abdi Santosa said.

The hotel also covered the couple's expenses at the hotel after the burglary was reported and gave them money on Saturday to pay the airport tax, he said. (zen)