DENPASAR
The Bali Times

The body of a 40-year-old German man was found in a locked car on Turtle Island (Serangan) on Monday. The discovery was made by a local herdsman, I Ketut Sana, close to the beach.

“We’re used to seeing parked cars there because there are often ceremonies in that area, but when I got close there was a terrible smell, so I called the police,” said Sana.

According to the police the car, a Suzuki Jimny that had been rented from an agent in Kuta since January 25, was locked.  The keys were in the ignition and a plastic tube connected the exhaust to the window. However, police have yet to confirm the cause of death.

“We can’t yet be sure if this was suicide or if he had been killed,” said Denpasar police commissioner I Gede Alit Widana.  Two mobile phones, a photocopy of a German passport and a local driving license were found on the body.

The body was taken to Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar for autopsy and other forensic procedures, expected to take at least a week. Forensic coordinator Dr Dudut Rusyadi said it seemed the body had been in the car for three or four days before it was found.