As the sun begins to set over Canggu, models with disco balls on their heads dance seductively by the pool at FINNS Beach Club as intense dance music blares from a DJ booth.
Approximately 1,000 tourists, including some from Australia, flock to the hugely popular and expansive Balinese venue, eager to drink and party until the early hours in the coolest surroundings.
A similarly raucous crowd is gathering at Old Man’s, further down the road. This bar is far less sophisticated than the influencer-loved bar next door, but it’s just as happening.
Cheap drinks, heady music and a hedonistic atmosphere draw thousands of drinkers through its doors.
What no one at either venue suspects is that there’s a predator among them, lurking in the men’s room with a hidden camera and catching dozens of unsuspecting victims every day. .
He brazenly and carelessly videotapes them urinating and, in some cases, defecating, and sells them online to a large number of subscribers for his pathological sexual gratification.
This week news.com.au revealed the unusual activities of a Bali serial voyeur who has been operating between two venues for at least a year.
He has amassed a cache of thousands of images and videos taken without the knowledge of his subjects, including at least two professional soccer players.
This man’s camera is cleverly hidden, meaning no one can see what he’s doing, and the quality is so high that it appears on his private channel on the encrypted messaging network Telegram. This gives a frighteningly clear picture of the people who do this.
And he is particularly interested in “straight men” from Australia.
Bali’s most popular venue
Visitors to the Indonesian island of Bali will find no shortage of fun spots, whether they’re looking for a spot to look out over the ocean while sipping a cocktail or dancing the night away.
But, without a doubt, the most popular tourist attraction, and the most popular place to visit, is Finn’s Beach Club.
It’s a huge hotspot with a pool, multiple bars, expansive lounge areas, dance floors, restaurants, and even a VIP area for those looking for an ultra-exclusive experience.
Even if you haven’t been yet, FINNS is very Instagrammable, so you may have seen it on your friends’ social media.
When you visit, you can choose from one of several areas, including a beach party space with a lagoon bed in the middle of the pool, an adults-only VIP oceanfront club with umbrella-covered beds, and a picnic-style lawn. Amenities.
Finns claims to be family-friendly, but children are kept out of sight at the back of the property, and beautiful young people are not bothered.
And they are beautiful.
When they’re not guzzling drinks or splashing around in the pool, these 20-somethings can be found endlessly posing in stylized shorts for their social media feeds .
Must-see photos include one of a waitress pouring booze from a bottle directly into a customer’s mouth.
Or, like the aforementioned disco ball-headed model, there are plenty of opportunities to take selfies with entertainers that align with the venue’s theme.
FINNS is a favorite venue for the Balinese predator, given that it is a beach club, perhaps because almost all of his victims are photographed shirtless.
Men’s travel companions. Soccer players celebrate the end of the season. A groom and his attendants blow off steam before the big day.
For at least the past year, hundreds if not thousands of people have violated them in what should be their private space.
Another frequent haunt of perverts is just a short walk away.
Bar Old Man’s, named after the surf break it overlooks, has been a Canggu mainstay for many years.
Although it has undergone many renovations and has been completely rebuilt in recent years, it still retains a bit of rustic charm.
The atmosphere here is completely different from FINNS. It has the feel of a lively nightclub, at least until late in the evening.
A full lineup of local and international DJs will keep people going until late into the night, while cheap drinks will keep you entertained.
Here, Balinese predators utilize trough-shaped urinals. The lack of individual bowls allows him to shoot multiple men at once, which he comments is fun.
There are also countless photographs of men going about their business inside small rooms, taken from hidden areas above bulkheads.
Given the night time and Oldman’s more frenetic pace, many of the men secretly filmed are extremely drunk.
You can barely stand and lean against a wall, and often need a companion to help you stagger away.
serious questions without answers
news.com.au has been repeatedly requesting urgent comment from both venues over the past few days as the seriousness of the situation became clearer.
One man operated for the better part of 12 months, spending hours a day in a toilet, trapping countless victims, and amassing an astonishing amount of visions and images.
Why he was not discovered by security teams at either venue is one of many unanswered questions.
Anyone who spends a lot of time in the bathroom without being there to do their natural business is clearly doing something wrong.
Also considered abnormal are people who come alone every day.
The fact that a predator can operate for so long without being detected raises questions about the level of safety provided to guests.
Who is this man? How did he gain repeated access without arousing suspicion? Why didn’t anyone recognize this frequent visitor and ask questions?
These and other questions were asked repeatedly in both venues over the past week.
FINNS representatives have twice notified us that they plan to issue a statement, but have not received a response.
Oldman’s management has not acknowledged the request at all.
Following the news.com.au report, Indonesian police launched an investigation with support from Australian authorities here.