Police Investigate Suspected Child Abduction Attempt at Gianyar Primary School

An alleged attempted kidnapping of a child in Gianyar, Bali, has gone viral on social media. The incident involved a pupil from SDN 3 Kerta in Banjar Penyabangan, Payangan District, Gianyar.

The pupil is believed to have been targeted for abduction by an unknown person (OTK). In a post shared by a social media account, the pupil recounted her experience, saying she was called over by an unknown man.

“I was about to go shopping at the stall. When I was about to head back, the man was there. He said, ‘Come here, come here’,” the pupil said in the social media video posted on Thursday (23/7/2026).

Realising she was being called by a stranger, the pupil became frightened and ran into the stall where she had been shopping.

Not long afterwards, the pupil stepped back outside to check the situation. It turned out the unknown man was still in the same spot.

“When I wanted to go back to school, the man was still there. Then he called out to me again. I was scared. I was afraid to encounter the man,” she said.

After the incident, the pupil reported the unknown man to her teacher. Several teachers who heard the pupil’s account then attempted to confront the unknown man, who was riding a motorbike, outside the school gate.

However, the man did not respond to the confrontation from the teachers of SDN 3 Kerta and promptly fled.

Payangan Police Chief AKP I Putu Budi Artama said the incident had come to the police’s attention through social media. An investigation is still under way into the alleged kidnapping attempt.

“We conducted an investigation at the location, took statements from the pupil, the school and the teachers, and are examining CCTV recordings around the area,” Budi said.

Budi said the incident was not experienced by just one pupil. Several other pupils of SDN 3 Kerta had similar encounters.

The unknown man allegedly called out to pupils and offered them sweets. In addition, he behaved indecently by making lewd gestures.

“We are still tracing and identifying the vehicle believed to have been used by the man,” he said.