Airline, police under scrutiny after 12-year old steals credit card, jets off to Bali alone
An exasperated Australian mother is demanding to know how her 12-year old son was able to take two flights and check in to a hotel in Bali alone, after grabbing his passport and stealing the family’s credit cards.
The boy’s epic adventure began after a row at home.
With his parent’s thinking he had gone to school, the boy, identified by the pseudonym of ‘Drew,’ travelled to Sydney Airport and took a connecting flight to Perth.
He was asked for proof of his age only in Perth when waiting for the flight to Bali.
When airport staff determined he was over 12, the minimum age to fly alone, he was allowed to continue his journey even without a letter of parental authorisation.
He had travelled on Jetstar flights.
"They just asked for my student ID and passport to prove that I’m over 12 and that I’m in secondary school. It was great because I wanted to go on an adventure," he told the 9 News ‘A Current Affair’ TV show.
His mother wasn’t quite so pleased.
"Shocked, disgusted, there’s no emotion to feel what we felt when we found he left overseas," said the boy’s mother Emma.
"It’s too easy, way too easy. There’s a problem in our system."
She only realised he was AWOL when the school contacted her to say he hadn’t shown up for classes.
He was traced to Bali when a family friend noticed a geotagged Facebook post of the boy playing in the Bali hotel pool.
During the four-day stay in Bali the boy amassed credit card bills totalling about US$6,000.
He even rented a motorbike despite his young age and the lack of a license and was also served beer.
It was not his first attempt to flee to Bali.
Mum Emma said: "We begged for help (from Australian authorities) for weeks on end. When the first attempt to Indonesia took place, we were told his passport was going to be flagged."
An Australian federal Police spokeswoman said it will ‘work with partner agencies to review the circumstances of this matter and current operating procedures, to ensure this type of incident does not occur again.’
He had previously tried to take flights with Qantas and Garuda but was stopped and the airlines notified the Australian Federal Police, although the AFP would not confirm this.
Meanwhile 9 News reported that Jetstar has since made changes to how it deals with unaccompanied minors.
Despite the obvious red flags being ignored, the boy’s parents have come under intense criticism by netizens for their parenting skills.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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