HEYBALI – Indonesian immigration authorities have opened an inquiry into the identities and legal status of three foreign nationals at the center of a viral confrontation at an Ubud gym, as officials work to verify claims about their nationality and alleged military background that have circulated widely online but remain unconfirmed.
The Denpasar Immigration Office confirmed it is actively gathering information on the three men, whose dispute with the owner of Ayenda gym was captured on video and spread rapidly across social media earlier this week.
“We are still collecting information regarding this matter,” said Putu Suhendra, head of communications at Denpasar Immigration, when reached for comment on Thursday, August 20.
What Immigration Is Actually Trying to Verify
The inquiry centers on three separate questions that, notably, remain entirely open as of this reporting: whether the men are in fact Israeli nationals, what travel documents they used to enter Indonesia, and whether any immigration violations are connected to their presence in Bali.
That last point carries particular weight given a specific allegation raised by the gym owner, who claimed the three men had entered Indonesia using passports from a country other than Israel, a claim that, if substantiated, would raise a distinct immigration compliance issue separate from the underlying dispute that made the video go viral in the first place.
A Dispute That Began Over a Confrontation With Staff
The case originated from a viral video showing the gym owner asking the three men to leave his premises. According to the owner’s account, the request came after one of the men behaved rudely toward staff. During the exchange, the owner asked the men to identify themselves and state their nationality, and subsequently claimed in the video that the three were Israeli nationals connected to the Israel Defense Forces.
It is worth being precise about what has and has not been established here. The claims regarding the men’s nationality, their alleged IDF affiliation, and the passports used to enter the country originate entirely from the gym owner’s account in the video. None of these claims have been officially confirmed by immigration authorities or any other government body to date.
Police Also Reviewing the Footage
Ubud Police Chief I Wayan Putra Antara previously stated that local police would also examine the viral video as part of a separate review, though no findings from that process have been made public.
For now, both immigration and police inquiries remain open, with authorities offering no timeline for when verified findings might be released. Bali Reporter will update this story as confirmed details become available from Indonesian officials.