A British national who was filmed apparently slapping an Indonesian immigration official at a Bali airport last year has disappeared just hours before she was due to appear in court.
A video that was posted online shows Auj-e Taqaddas, 43, appearing to strike and swear at him when he asked her to pay a hefty fine for overstaying her visa. The video was widely circulated on social media shortly after the 2018 incident.
Taqaddas, who is Pakistani-born but lives in London, has disputed the video, saying it was altered to make her look bad, according to Sky News.
She was scheduled to appear before a judge on Wednesday, but did not show up and authorities cannot locate her.
A video that was posted online shows Auj-e Taqaddas, 43, appearing to strike and swear at him when he asked her to pay a hefty fine for overstaying her visa. The video was widely circulated on social media shortly after the 2018 incident. (Viral Press)
Taqaddas was facing the equivalent of a $2,600 fine for overstaying her month-long visa by about seven months.
Indonesian authorities told reporters that Taqaddas has not responded to messages left for her and apparently checked out a hotel.
“She cannot travel outside Bali because she has been blacklisted by immigration,” public prosecutor Nyoman Triarta Kurniawan was quoted as telling reporters.
Taqaddas now faces worse than a fine. Kurniawan would like to see her spend a year in jail for assaulting the immigration official.
In her not-guilty plea in a previous court hearing, she alleged that the video was doctored and that she was framed.
Her hearing has been rescheduled to Feb. 11 as authorities try to track her down.