A security guard, not a mythical spirit, is to blame for stolen money in an Ubud villa safety box, villa staff have finally realized.
Ubud’s Villa Pertiwi would apparently often receive complaints from guests about losing money stored in the accommodation’s safety box, but the thievery would be attributed to a tuyul, a mischievous child-like spirit, present in local folklore.
Based on reports from the villa, such theft has occurred six times and dates back to the beginning of 2015. Not surprisingly, the reoccurring theft made an impact on occupancy rates, dropping them down.
However, after more than a year of pinning missing money on tuyul, villa security guard I Wayan Budiasa, 27, was finally caught and arrested on Tuesday. Despite some superstitions that a tuyul did it, Gianyar Police had been investigating the villa after numerous reports were made to the regency’s police department.
Police found that Budiasa would use the money to settle his personal debts and gambling, reports said. The young man had worked as a security guard at the villa all the way back from 2009.
“The modus operandi was that the security guard took the room key from the front office and freely would take the money home. Before acting, the perp would find a list of guests who would check out and take the key from the front office when employees were off duty,” Gianyar Police’s Criminal Unit Chief Gusti Ngurah Winangun told Merdeka on Wednesday.
The security guard could face charges carrying a max of seven years behind bars, according to reports.
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