Disturbing development in Bali nightclub toilet spy camera scandal

The shock development comes just months after previous social media channels run by a serial predator in Indonesia were shut down following an investigation by news.com.au.

In December, news.com.au exclusively revealed a prolific pervert had secretly recorded thousands of clips of predominantly Aussie revellers as they urinated, and some while defecating, at FINNS Beach Club in Canggu and nearby bar Old Man’s.

The voyeur’s illegal vision, captured over the span of at least a year, was then sold online to thousands of subscribers via the encrypted messaging network Telegram.

Do you know more? Email shannon.molloy@news.com.au

Among the hundreds, if not thousands of unaware victims were at least two professional footballers.

The man wrote often about his fondness for “straight Aussies” and boasted about some of the famous people he had snooped on.

Following news.com.au’s investigation, the predator’s accounts on Telegram were shut down and he vanished.

Now, it can be revealed that many of his videos have resurfaced online, on X, formerly Twitter, and an Only Fans-style subscription site called FansMine.

The X account, sharing snippets of the disgusting videos as a ‘teaser’ of what buyers can find on FansMine, was registered in December last year.

In the short time since, it has gained more than 9100 followers.

Meanwhile, over on FansMine, subscribers pay US$13.99 (AU$21.50) per month to access the full cache of almost 1170 degrading videos.

The account has attracted more than 15,000 likes but it’s unclear how many of those users are active subscribers.

Only a proportion of available videos are from the original Telegram accounts, but the new distributor has promised to continue uploading the spy cam vision from within FINNS Beach Club and Old Man’s, claiming to possess “over 2000 vids from this serie (sic)”.

News.com.au can confirm that formal complaints have been made to both websites by concerned users over recent weeks but have gone ignored.

FansMine was approached for comment but did not respond before publication.

An email sent to the media office at X prompted a reply that read: “Busy now, please check back later.”

Earlier content shared on the FansMine account depicts men with American accents in vastly different venues to the ones seen on the original Telegram, including gym locker rooms and public bathrooms.

That suggests the Bali club toilet predator and whoever is running the FansMine account are different people.

Indeed, a watermark running across the middle of original videos has now been obscured.

A Telegram account registered by the new distributor in December has since been shut down by the service following user complaints.

News.com.au’s reporting sparked an investigation in Indonesia, supported by the Australian Federal Police and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The current status of that probe is unknown, as multiple attempts by news.com.au to make contact with police in Bali have been unsuccessful.

For example, a police contact number provided by the government’s Smart Traveller service to tourists has been disconnected.

Indonesian Police, the force’s chief General Listyo Sigit Prabowo, local Bali police and Bali Tourism Authorities have not responded to continued requests for comment.

In a statement today, an AFP spokesperson said: “The AFP has referred the matter to the Indonesian National Police. As it is an ongoing investigation no further comment will be made at this time.”

From the start of news.com.au’s investigation, FINNS Beach Club and Old Man’s – both hugely popular haunts, especially among Aussie visitors – have refused countless invitations to comment.

New requests sent in light of this latest development have also gone unanswered.

FINNS is a sprawling party hotspot that sits beachside and has pools, multiple bars, several lounge areas, a restaurant, and VIP spaces.

It was co-founded by former Sydney Swans star Tony Smith, who moved to Bali in 2009 with his family and joined forces with local business identity Ketut Subina.

Mr Smith has not responded to requests for comment.

Old Man’s is just down the road and bills itself as “the most iconic beachfront venue in Bali”, providing a chilled beer garden-style atmosphere by day and a pumping nightclub vibe at night.

It has a staggering capacity of 3500 patrons who party until the early hours, fuelled by in-demand local and international DJs and cheap drinks.

There’s no suggestion Mr Smith or FINNS, nor Old Man’s, had any involvement in or knowledge of the voyeur’s action.

When it was active, the Bali pervert’s Telegram was sharing regular updates, with at least a dozen new victims exposed each day.

The man behind the deviant endeavour managed several private channels, accessible when subscribers pay up to US$275 (AU$423) for “VIP access” to full-length and uncensored content.

Those channels were categorised by themes – beach club patrons, nightclub patrons, men who are defecating, and “straight bait” – or unwitting social media and dating app users who have been catfished and tricked into sending nude photos and videos.

Lars Madsen, a leading forensic psychologist with two decades’ experience and practices at the Clinical Psychology Centre in Brisbane, with a particular expertise in the assessment and treatment of sexual and violent offending, described the behaviour as “extreme”.

“His ease of access and the opportunity to create this kind of stuff is staggering,” Dr Madsen said.

“There seems to be a preoccupation with collecting this material. He’s obviously chronically sexually preoccupied. It’s likely he can’t stop thinking about it.

“The level or organisation and the obsession with collecting and collating this stuff is interesting. He seems very focused on the operation – it’s likely become an important part of his voyeurism, as well as the sexual gratification.”

A spokesperson for Australia’s eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the sharing of intimate visual content without the consent of the person depicted constituted image-based abuse.

“It includes pictures or videos where someone is naked or partly naked or involved in a private activity, such as using the toilet or showering,” the spokesperson said.

“The eSafety Commissioner can help if a person is the victim of image-based abuse and we encourage Australians experiencing it to report it to eSafety.gov.au/report.  

“As part of our powers, we can require platforms to remove this content when it is reported to us by the person targeted or someone authorised to make a report on their behalf.

“If you have been targeted, please don’t go through this alone but seek support from people you trust or from a 24/7 support service, like Lifeline or Beyond Blue.”