HEYBALI – Four Australian men linked to the fatal assault of British national Paul Innes Dougan had already left Indonesia before the case was reported to police.
Now, with all four believed to be back in Australia, Bali police are turning to Indonesia’s international police unit, known as Hubinter Polri, to help trace them and pursue the investigation.
The four men, identified by police as RGG, PAM, JRM and TRZ, are suspected of assaulting Dougan at a bar in Kuta, Bali, on August 5. According to police records, they left Indonesia for Australia the following day.
That timing has become an important part of the case.
Dougan did not immediately go to hospital after the alleged assault. He remained at his hotel before being picked up by medical personnel on August 8 and later transferred to BIMC Hospital, where his condition deteriorated.
He died on August 20.
The case was only reported by Dougan’s child on the same day, meaning the men suspected of being involved had already left Bali nearly two weeks earlier.
Denpasar Police spokesperson Iptu I Gede Adi Saputra Jaya said investigators are now working with Hubinter Polri as they continue efforts to locate the four Australians.
“We are still conducting an intensive investigation and coordinating with Hubinter Polri,” Adi said on Tuesday, August 25.
For investigators, the international dimension changes the next stage of the case. The suspects are no longer in Indonesia, so locating them and determining what legal steps can be taken will require cooperation between Indonesian and Australian authorities.
Police are also examining CCTV footage from the location of the alleged assault and collecting additional evidence.
At the same time, an autopsy has been conducted at Prof. IGNG Ngoerah General Hospital in Denpasar. Investigators are still waiting for the results, which could be important in establishing the medical cause of Dougan’s death.
That leaves a number of questions still open.
Police have not yet publicly detailed the full circumstances surrounding the alleged assault or established the precise connection between the injuries Dougan suffered and his subsequent death. The autopsy findings are expected to provide an important piece of that picture.
For Bali, where Kuta remains one of the island’s busiest areas for international visitors and nightlife, the case also carries a wider concern about tourist safety.
But the immediate focus is now elsewhere.
The four Australians are believed to be in Australia. Bali police have identified them, reviewed CCTV evidence and begun coordinating internationally.
What happens next will depend on how that cooperation develops and what investigators find in the evidence and autopsy results.
The investigation that began in a Kuta bar is now reaching beyond Bali.