MEULABOH, Indonesia (Reuters) – An Australian man who was arrested for drunken assault and public nudity in Indonesia’s ultra-conservative Islamic province Aceh is set to be deported, authorities said.
Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones, 23, was arrested by police in April after he was found streaking in an inebriated state through a village on Simeulue island off Aceh province. Residents said Risby-Jones, who was on a surfing trip to the island, attacked them, throwing punches and injuring at least one fisherman.
Risby-Jones was freed from jail in Simeulue on Wednesday after he apologised and paid 250 million rupiah ($16,778) in compensation to victims. He did not face criminal charges.
He said he was “very relieved and happy” to be released after he had “made a fool” of himself, according to media.
The Australian was handed over to immigration “to be deported to his country and is waiting for a ticket from his embassy,” said Fauzi, an immigration officer who goes by one name, in Meulaboh, a town on the Aceh mainland.
($1 = 14,900 rupiah)
(Reporting by Ananda Teresia, Hidayatullah Tahjuddin, and Heru Asprihanto; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
