Jembrana Man Dies by Electrocution After Bathing in Irrigation Channel

I Made Sumarwa was electrocuted beside an irrigation channel in Baler Bale Agung neighbourhood, Tegalcangkring village, Mendoyo sub-district, Jembrana, Bali. The 65-year-old man was shocked after holding a streetlight pole when he had finished bathing.

Mendoyo Police Chief Kompol I Wayan Sartika said Sumarwa had been bathing in the channel with his neighbour, I Nyoman Sintra, from 7pm local time on Sunday (25 October). Sumarwa then climbed the concrete steps beside the channel. As he was about to put on his trousers, he held the streetlight pole with his right hand.

“The victim shouted ‘ow’ and then collapsed face down. The witness, who tried to help, also felt an electric shock as he approached, so he jumped back into the irrigation channel and ran to ask residents for help,” Sartika said when contacted by detikBali on Monday (26 October 2026).

Soon afterwards, another resident, I Kadek Sastrawan, arrived at the scene. He found Sumarwa lying on his back, with his left foot still touching the streetlight pole. Afraid to touch the victim, Sastrawan reported the incident to Mendoyo Police.

“Officers from the Negara branch of state electricity company PLN tested the pole with a voltage detector and found the source was a frayed cable at its upper end,” Sartika said.

An examination by a doctor from Mendoyo I Community Health Centre, together with the identification and medical teams from Jembrana Police, found an abrasion below the victim’s left knee. Sartika said there were no signs of violence or injuries caused by a blunt object.

“The victim has been taken to the family home. The family accepts this incident as an accident,” Sartika said.