HEYBALI – A restaurant employee in Legian became the victim of a surprisingly patient theft this week, after a female customer used a tissue and a fake trip to the sink to make off with her phone in full view of security cameras, then calmly returned to finish her meal as if nothing had happened.
The incident occurred at Bakso Solo Samrat restaurant in the Dwi Sri area of Legian, Kuta, at approximately 5:30 p.m. on Monday, August 17.
A Phone Left on a Busy Table
According to Iptu I Gede Adi Saputra Jaya, spokesperson for Denpasar Metropolitan Police, the employee’s phone had been left on a table during a particularly busy stretch of service. “According to the information received, the employee’s phone was left on the table while the venue was busy with customers,” he said Thursday, August 20.
That momentary lapse, common in any high-traffic restaurant during peak hours, was reportedly all the opportunity a nearby customer needed.
The Sink, the Tissue, and the Setup
Security footage shows a female customer, described as having long hair, a heavyset build, and wearing a black jumpsuit, approaching a sink and pretending to wash her hands, an ordinary enough action that drew no attention.
She then picked up a tissue from a nearby dining table and used it to casually cover the employee’s phone, still sitting in plain sight. “The customer initially pretended to wash her hands at the sink, then took a tissue from the dining table and covered the victim’s phone on the table using the tissue,” Adi explained.
Once she judged the moment safe, she picked up the now-concealed phone.
A Detour to the Restroom, Then the Parking Lot
Rather than leaving immediately, the woman headed upstairs to the restaurant’s second floor, appearing to head toward the restroom. It was there, just outside the restroom door, that footage shows her slipping the stolen phone into her clothing.
From there, she made her way to the parking area, where police believe she stashed the device in her vehicle before heading back inside.
“Once at the restroom, the suspect was seen putting the phone inside her clothing. She then allegedly went to the parking area, believed to be where she stored the phone in her vehicle,” Adi said.
The Most Unusual Part: She Came Back to Finish Eating
What sets this case apart from a typical smash-and-grab theft is what happened next. Rather than fleeing the scene, the woman reportedly walked back into the restaurant, sat down at a different table, and resumed eating the bowl of bakso, Indonesian meatball soup, she had already ordered.
That level of composure after the theft has drawn particular attention from investigators, suggesting either a calculated risk assessment or simply a striking degree of nerve.
A Modest Loss, But an Active Investigation
The stolen device was a yellow Infinix smartphone, with the victim’s total loss estimated at 1.5 million rupiah, roughly 95 US dollars. Kuta Police Sector’s Criminal Investigation Unit is continuing to investigate the case, working from CCTV footage that captured the suspect’s face and movements in considerable detail throughout the incident.
For Bali’s expat and tourist community, the case is a useful reminder that even brief distractions at crowded restaurants and cafes can create opportunities for opportunistic theft, and that keeping personal devices within direct line of sight remains one of the simplest safeguards against exactly this kind of scheme.
