A video of a heated exchange between a cab driver and two female tourists in Bali, Indonesia is being shared with a false claim that it shows a taxi driver in Maldives harassing two foreigners.
BOOM found that the video is of an incident that took place in Bali, Indonesia earlier this month. The police later arrested the taxi driver on charges of committing extortion with violence.
Strained ties between New Delhi and Male has generated a wave of misinformation online. The latest escalation was triggered after Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a video of him snorkelling in Lakshadweep and urged Indians to favour local holiday destinations. His followers interpreted it as a strong message against Maldives. Three Maldivian ministers who posted derogatory remarks about Modi on X while embroiled in the online slug fest were subsequently suspended.
Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu was elected to power last year, following the success of his 'India Out' campaign that demanded the removal of Indian troops in the country. In December last year, Muizzu announced that India had agreed to fulfil this request and that Indian soldiers would leave the island. He is also known to favour China-- his office in a recent statement called China Maldives' "closest allies and developmental partners."
Against this backdrop, the viral video is being shared with a caption saying, "Maldives is too unsafe for women for obvious reasons. Many girls have reported rape, molestation, extortion etc in Maldives. Girls should avoid going there."
Click here to view the post.
Fact Check
In the reply section of one such post, we came across another post on X (formerly Twitter) dated January 8, 2024, carrying the same video. The post stated that the incident took place in Bali province, Indonesia, where a taxi driver threatened some women over the cab fare.
Following that lead, we ran a keyword search for reports on the incident and found several news articles covering the incident that took place in Indonesia.
Indonesia-based news outlet Detikcom uploaded a video report on January 6, carrying the same video, and stated that the incident took place in Indonesia's Bali province. The report also mentioned that the taxi driver was apprehended after he threatened the foreign tourists, demanding a payment of US$50 for his taxi services.
Click here to view the post.
The Indonesian National Police also published an article on January 11, providing a detailed report on the extortion of two American tourists in Bali.
The article states, "According to Senior Superintendent Wisnu Prabowo, the Chief of the Denpasar Police, the passengers, identified as LN and LJ, communicated the fare as 50 when they booked the taxi, referring to Rp 50,000. However, the driver misunderstood it as 50 in US dollars. As a result, the driver resorted to extortion within the vehicle, brandishing a folding fan as if it were a knife and gesturing a threat to slit the victims’ throats, he said."
It further adds, "Despite initial resistance, the victims eventually handed over $100 to the driver to resolve the situation. After receiving the money, the victims exited the vehicle. Feeling aggrieved, they reported the incident to the local police after the incident went viral."
According to the report, the 20-year-old taxi driver Yanuarius Toebkae is presently in police custody, charged under Article 368 of the Criminal Code, which involves extortion with violence and carries a sentence of up to nine years in prison.
