DENPASAR ~ Not all tourists come to Bali just to have a holiday.

Some come to also make false claims to their insurance companies at home, police said.

According to Denpasar Police chief Gede Alit Widana, 148 tourists reported goods lost or stolen on holiday in 2008, but only 128 were confirmed to be real; another 20 were never followed up.

Widana said it was difficult to catch people making fake claims, as it was not possible to tell when someone making a claim was telling the truth or lying.

“Some people have even come to the police station asking for a police report, telling officers they just wanted to collect insurance money,” he said.

To prevent tourists making fake claims, Widana said officers would now have to make a complete investigation before issuing a letter for an insurance company.

He said he hoped that by making the process more difficult, only real claims would be made.