British Man David Taylor And Girlfriend Re-enact ‘Murder’ Of Bali Police Officer

The handcuffed couple took the opportunity to embrace and kiss
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A British man, who confessed to battering a police officer in Bali with a broken bottle and then leaving him unconscious, has taken part in a grisly re-enactment of the crime.

David Taylor and his Australian girlfriend Sara Connor were arrested on Friday, two days after the bloodied body of police officer Wayan Sudarsa was found on a popular tourist beach in Kuta.

The couple had been drinking beer on the beach in the hours before the late-night encounter. Connor’s handbag was found nearby.

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Dressed in an orange prison overall, David Taylor re-enacts the events which led to the death of police officer Wayan Sudarsa on a Bali beach last week
Firdia Lisnawati/AP
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With the victim played by another police officer, the pair appeared to tussle, with British Taylor seen holding a beer bottle
Antara Photo Agency / Reuters

Denpasar Police Chief Col. Hadi Purnomo said Taylor, 33, admitted getting into a fight with Sudarsa, who was on duty, after Connor realised she had lost her handbag and accused him of stealing it and being a fake police officer.

Purnomo said the dispute escalated after Taylor, a DJ, tried to search Sudarsa, who pushed the British man to the ground.

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The re-enactment saw him reunited with his Australian girlfriend Sara Connor. The pair shared an embrace and a kiss on the beach
Antara Photo Agency / Reuters

Taylor’s lawyer, Haposan Sihombing, said his client admitted to hitting the Indonesian with a cellphone, binoculars and beer bottle, but he didn’t realise Sudarsa would die.

“Taylor hit the victim repeatedly with the broken bottle, leaving him face down and unconscious,” the police chief told the Associated Press.

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During a struggle the beer bottle broke
Andri Tambunan via Getty Images
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Taylor is alleged to have beaten the victim repeatedly with a broken bottle, leaving him face down and unconscious in the sand
Andri Tambunan via Getty Images

The couple left the scene but Taylor returned and turned over the body of Sudarsa, who was still unconscious, he said.

Sihombing said Connor, 45, tried to help Taylor during the fight, but her lawyer, Erwin Siregar, said she denies being involved.

“She insists that she was not involved with the murder at all. She saw from behind that Taylor hit the victim, but she did not know what he used to hit,” Siregar said.

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Connor's lawyer says she denied being involved in the fight
Andri Tambunan via Getty Images
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The 'victim' is seen grasping onto Taylor's ankle
Andri Tambunan via Getty Images

Prosecutors will decide charges after police submit their investigation report.

A conviction for intentional murder in Indonesia has a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Purnomo said Connor could be charged with aiding an assault that led to death. The maximum penalty is 10 years if convicted.

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Taylor admitted hitting the officer with a phone, binoculars and a beer bottle, but claims he didn't know Sudarsa would die
Andri Tambunan via Getty Images