No, this video doesn't show a taxi driver threatening two women in the Maldives

By: Ishita Goel
January 11 2024

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Social media posts claim the video shows women being threatened in Maldives.(Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Context

After derogatory statements were passed by Maldivian ministers against India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, social media users are calling for a boycott of the Maldives. Amid this, a narrative is emerging that alleges the Maldives are unsafe for women, and videos of violence and threats against women are being connected with the country on social media.

What's the claim?

One video showing two women in a taxi being threatened by the driver has been shared, claiming that it shows an incident from the Maldives. In the video, we can hear a heated argument between the driver and the two women, which appears to be an argument over money. Later we can see the driver threatening the woman with a knife. This was shared on X (archived here) with the caption "This is what Maldives has become .. PAKISTAN Unsafe for tourists, specially for women traveling alone." Another user said (archived here and here) "#Maldives is too unsafe for women for obvious reasons. Many girls have reported rape, molestation, extortion etc in #Maldives. Girls should avoid going there." 

Screenshots of the viral posts on social media. (Source: Instagram/X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What are the facts?

In the viral video, at 1:58, we can see the car number plate "DK-1841 AAX." DK is registered as a vehicle number for Denmark and Bali. 

Image showing the car number plate. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

We corroborated the location as Bali after a reverse image search, which led us to a report published by The Bali Sun on January 5, 2024. It carried multiple social media posts with a longer version of the viral video. The report also confirmed that the incident happened in Bali; the video showed a taxi driver threatening two American tourists in the Indonesian province. The report added that the driver tried to extort USD 50 from the two women. 

The same was reported by the Independent on January 10. The report quoted Yahoo News, stating that the tourists were traveling through Kuta, a popular beach resort in the south of the island. They offered the driver 50,000 Indonesian Rupiah, which is around £2.50 as a fare, but the driver asked for $50 (£39.29). They further reported, crediting VnExpress, that the driver was later arrested and expected to be charged with “extortion and threat”, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

Similar visuals published in the Independent and The Bali Sun. (Source: Screenshots/The Independent/The Bali Sun/Modified by Logically Facts)

Indonesian National Police stated on January 6 the Bali Regional Police arrested the particular taxi driver from Ngurah Rai Airport. Further, on January 11, another release stated the 20-year-old taxi driver, Yanuarius Toebkae, "resorted to threats and extortion due to a misunderstanding regarding the taxi fare." According to Senior Superintendent Wisnu Prabowo, the Chief of the Denpasar Police, the passengers, identified as LN and LJ, communicated the fare as 50 when they booked the taxi, referring to RP 50,000 but the driver misunderstood it in dollars. The release confirmed that the incident occurred on January 2, 2024, in the Seminyak area of Bali. 

The release also said, "Yanuarius is currently in police custody, facing charges under Article 368 of the Criminal Code, which entails extortion with violence, carrying a maximum sentence of nine years in prison."

The verdict

The viral video is of an incident that happened in Bali on January 2. It has been passed off as showing an incident in the Maldives amid the recent India-Maldives row. Therefore we have marked the claim as false.