Aimee Walker
A pair of influencers have had their passports seized in Bali after painting on face masks instead of wearing proper ones.
Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se walked around a store to see if onlookers would realise they were wearing fake protective coverings and then shared the clip onto Instagram.
However, the stunt was slammed by their followers.
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The pair are now facing deportation, as Josh identifies as a Taiwanese national, while Leia is from Russia.
A spokesperson for the regional office for the Ministry of Law and Human Rights confirmed that the influencers would be questioned.
They told Coconuts Bali: “After that, they will be examined together with Immigration to take the decision on whether or not to deport them.”
The Head of Bali Civil Service Police, Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, added that the agency would be planning on recommending deportation, as Josh and Leia’s actions violated the expected behaviour of tourists.
He commented: “They are not only violating, but deliberately provoking in public, so it’s only proper to sanction them more severely, not just with a fine but also deportation.”
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After receiving such intense backlash for their actions, Josh and Leia released an apology video. The duo stood alongside what appeared to be their legal team as they explained that they had not intended to encourage others not to wear masks. Instead, they wanted to ‘entertain people’.
Josh added: “I did not realise that what I did could… raise a lot of concerns. Once again we want to apologise for what we did and we promise not to do it again.”
The influencers then encouraged others to ‘always wear a mask’ so that Bali can regain its tourism once again.
Following the backlash, the pair made their Instagram accounts private. Although they went public again once they uploaded the apology.
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