An Australian man has been arrested at Bali’s airport over an alleged public sex act that was caught on camera.
Billy Aspinall, 27, from Coolum Beach, Queensland, was detained overnight after CCTV footage of the alleged incident on August 22 went viral online. Police and immigration authorities said he was caught trying to leave on a flight to Brisbane, with facial recognition technology used to identify him from the CCTV footage.
“On Tuesday (25/8/2026), B.A. (police used this acronym) was successfully secured by the inspection officer of (immigration checkpoint) Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport while departing for Brisbane,” officials said in a statement.
“Intelligence and Immigration Action Team (Inteldakim) Immigration Office Ngurah Rai moves quickly to secure those concerned, which was later handed over to Badung Resort Police for further legal process.”
He and an unidentified woman were allegedly shown on camera performing several sex acts next to a residential property in Tibubeneng village, North Kuta, at about 6:30 p.m. On Saturday. The entire alleged act lasted 15 minutes before the pair were seen to walk away, according to authorities.
A local woman stumbled across the pair as she was on her way to prayer, as seen in the footage, and reportedly shouted at them to stop what they were doing.
Authorities described the alleged incident as a “reckless act” in a post announcing the arrest on Wednesday. In Bali, sexual intercourse in public is believed to bring bad energy to the home, and in this case, the local woman was forced to perform a Hindu ceremony after witnessing the indecent act.
The woman in the video is still wanted by police. It is suspected she is also a tourist. “The identity of the female foreigner suspected of being involved is still being investigated by the Police and is currently being pursued by authorities to be held accountable,” the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office said.
“Immigration has also included B.A. In the Subject of Interest (SOI) list to monitor his movements when crossing through the Immigration Checkpoint,” the office added.
Authorities believe B.A., an Australian citizen born in 1998, held a valid visa on arrival at the time of his arrest.
While Bali itself is predominantly Hindu, Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country that has conservative laws and harsh views on pornography. On January 2 of this year, Indonesia formally implemented its new Criminal Code, a lengthy legal document which ushered in a number of new and revised laws that criminalise premarital sex, cohabitation and public drunkenness.
In March this year, three tourists were arrested in Bali after local police accused them of filming pornographic content on the holiday island.
North Kuta chief police commander Ketut Sukadana said this week the alleged “indecent acts have the potential to cause public concern.”
“Particularly among the residents of Tibubeneng, and may negatively affect the image of security and tourism in the North Kuta area if the matter is not addressed and handled seriously by taking firm action against the perpetrators, whether under local customary law or national law,” Sukadana continued.
In the viral moment that sparked the manhunt, Aspinall and the unidentified woman were captured on CCTV engaging in alleged sex acts in a driveway next to a residential property in broad evening hours, with a local resident interrupting them during her prayer journey. The footage spread rapidly online, prompting authorities to deploy facial recognition technology to identify Aspinall before he could board his Brisbane-bound flight.
Aspinal remains in police custody as the Badung Resort Police continue their investigation and pursue the unidentified female suspect.