According to Australian media reports on December 10, significant progress has been made in the case of Bonnie Blue and three men arrested in Bali on suspicion of producing pornographic material, despite the country’s strict “morality” laws. Last week, a studio in Padang was raided, and the sex worker and 17 male tourists (aged between 19 and 40) were initially detained.
Fourteen of the men, all Australian nationals, were released without charge, while police launched an investigation into Blue and three other tourists. Australian comedian Julian Woods was later confirmed to be one of the three currently being interrogated by Indonesian immigration officials, alongside the 26-year-old Blue.
Padang police have now issued a new statement to local Bali media, which allegedly says that so far, they have “not found any pornographic elements” in last week’s raid. After interrogating 16 arrestees, according to Detik Bali, “all witnesses admitted to participating in the production of reality show content at the studio”.
Ampu Ni Nyoman Ayu Inastuti, head of public relations at Padang Police, told the media: “They stated that the event was planned to appear exciting and fun on social media, but emphasized that there were no pornographic elements.” “They acknowledged knowing that producing pornographic content in Indonesia is prohibited.” However, this does not mean Blue (real name Tia Billinge) is in the clear, as officials confirmed the investigation is still ongoing.
None of the group, who entered the country on tourist visas, have been charged, but their passports have been confiscated. Immigration team officials have now confirmed they are investigating allegations of abuse of residence permits. Inastuti explained: “The four suspects are suspected of abusing residence permits; they used long-term residence permits required for work and tourist visas to produce commercial content.”
Padang Police told Detik Bali that during the investigation, they found a “private video containing pornographic content” on one defendant’s mobile phone. However, the content was not shared with others and is therefore not considered a criminal offense. A local criminal expert told the media that unless it can be proven that the content was produced or distributed for non-personal consumption, the elements of violation under Indonesia’s Pornography Law or Information Technology Law are not met.
Footage taken on Wednesday shows Blue, wearing a green crop top and matching shorts, arriving at the Bali Immigration Office accompanied by her lawyer, Edward Pancasila. The controversial sex worker became a household name earlier this year after claiming to have had sex with 1,057 men in 12 hours, and she appeared smiling and energetic despite her predicament.
When asked if she had filmed pornographic content in Bali, the British “sex influencer”—who was deported from Australia in 2024 for violating tourist visa regulations—gave a playful response directing people to her online platforms.
At the immigration office, Blue was accompanied by two members of her British team, Leon Isaac Nabil and Liam Andrew Jackson, and the crude Australian jokester Woods was also present.
The case took a dramatic turn after Padang Police claimed the group was playing a sexual game where “the winner would have sex with Bonnie Blue”. According to local media reports, Inastuti said: “At the time of the raid, they were producing collaborative content about a game where the winner would have sex with Bonnie Blue.” “No pornographic activities or acts were found in the collaborative content.”
Blue caused an uproar after launching “party bus” tours targeting graduates in the deeply religious country. It remains unclear how long Blue will stay on the Indonesian island, and her spokesperson told the media that “she was released on Saturday and is cooperating with authorities and police”. If prosecuted and convicted of pornography charges, Blue could face a maximum of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 2.7 million yuan, the maximum penalty.
Philo Delano, managing partner of PNB Immigration Law, a Jakarta-based law firm specializing in assisting foreigners with Indonesian immigration and legal matters, told the media that if found guilty, Blue is likely to be deported and permanently banned from re-entering Indonesia, rather than being prosecuted and imprisoned. Delano said: “She is currently in police detention, which means the police can file public prosecution against her.”
“But in my opinion, if there is an ‘invisible hand’ requesting her deportation, she can be transferred to the nearest immigration office and then expelled from Indonesia from there.” Padang Police Chief Arif Batubara said the operation was launched after receiving public reports of suspected production of pornographic videos.
Indonesia has strict “morality” laws that prohibit a range of disrespectful behaviors, including public nudity and extramarital sex. A person who claimed to have reported the notorious sex worker said he did so because the local community was shocked by Blue’s behavior at graduate celebrations.
The anonymous source said: “Pornography is illegal here, producing pornographic content is illegal here, and working without a license is illegal here. We do not want Bonnie Blue’s ‘Bali gangbang’ videos to be released and spread around the world. Bali does not need this kind of publicity.” Padang Police seized Blue’s “party bus” during the investigation, along with a number of other items including multiple cameras, condoms, aphrodisiacs, and USB drives.
