Briton David Taylor has reportedly admitted to hitting a Bali policeman twice over the head with a pair of binoculars. Photo / Facebook
British traveller David Taylor, who is under investigation over the death of a Bali policeman, has reportedly admitted to striking the officer on the head with a pair of binoculars.
Mr Taylor, 33, originally from London but who lived in New Zealand for a while, is being questioned alongside his Australian girlfriend Sara Connor over the death of Inspector Wayan Sudarsa on Kuta Beach.
It is claimed Mr Taylor has told police he struck the policeman twice during a fight on the sands, the Daily Mail reports.
He said his girlfriend from Byron Bay, Queensland, tried to break up the fight.
The dramatic breakthrough in the investigation came last night after the pair had been questioned for hours by police.
During the questioning and interviews with their lawyers, the couple's stories changed, with each giving different accounts of what had happened in the early hours of last Wednesday.
Mr Taylor's lawyer, Haposan Sihombing, told reporters last night that Ms Connor's handbag had been missing when the pair were on the beach and it was then that Mr Taylor had seen a man - who turned out to be the police officer - near the area.
"There was a struggle between David and the victim on the beach," Mr Sihombing said.
"When they were fighting, David saw Sara behind the victim. Sara tried to break up the fight.
"David saw binoculars on the victim's neck. He then used the binoculars to hit the victim's head twice."
Earlier, police had claimed the policeman had been struck with a beer bottle.
The revelation came after a Bali police chief earlier said Ms Connor had promised to "admit everything" after making "false statements" about the incident.
The mother-of-two and her British boyfriend were arrested on Friday over the death of the officer.
However the head of Denpasar police has refuted Ms Connor's claims the the deceased officer was a "bad cop", saying she fabricated the idea of him committing an indecent act against her in an attempt to appear innocent.
"She will admit everything, she promised she will admit that what was said yesterday, that was a false statement," Hadi Purnomo told the Brisbane Times.
"Today she will confess the honest truth what she did."
But the lawyer for the Australian woman has said she had "no involvement" in the officer's death, maintaining that she is "innocent".
"(She was) not involved in this case, not at all. She's innocent," Ms Connor's lawyer Erwin Siregar told reporters outside a Denpasar Police Station, Channel Nine reports.
Police earlier said a "struggle" seems to have occurred between the victim and Ms Connor, who appeared to have substantial bite marks around her finger and leg.
However Mr Siregar told media that Ms Connor first found the officer when he was lying on his stomach on the sand, shaking him and saying: "Where's my bag, where's my bag?", the ABC reports.
"The victim bit her leg. (But) not only the leg, but also the hand."
Mr Siregar told media that the accused couldn't shed any light on how the officer came to be lying on his stomach on the sand.
"She didn't know how the victim got to that position of lying on his stomach. That was just how she found him," he said.
Both Ms Connor and Mr Taylor are facing up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
The claims come after Mr Taylor's lawyer earlier admitted that he was "hiding something" about the incident.
"Reading his statement ... there were unsynchronised statements, I saw something he was hiding. I tried to move his conscience to say it as it is, what he knows, what he felt, what he saw," Mr Haposan said in a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.
Police earlier confirmed that the blood of one of the suspects in the bashing murder had been found at the crime scene.
Denpasar District Police Chief Hadi Purnomo confirmed that blood samples had been analysed and there was a match with a suspect - but wouldn't say whether it was Ms Connor or Mr Taylor's blood.
"From the forensic lab result we found two types of blood on the crime scene: the suspect's and the victim's," he told the ABC.
Police allege that blood found at the crime scene is "identical" to that discovered at the Kubu Kauh Beach Inn in Kuta where the pair were staying.
The night the officer was killed the couple had gone to a restaurant and had been drinking beer before going to the beach where they began "kissing".
During that time, Ms Connor said she lost her purse and wounded her arm and leg, but it remains unclear how those injuries occurred.
Hours later, Mr Sudarsa's sand-covered body was found. He had significant wounds to his head and leg, and his shirt was unbuttoned and bloodied with a smashed Bintang beer bottle was found nearby.
The victim's bloodied body was found on the sand with 17 head wounds, it was reported.
Police said a "struggle" seems to have occurred between the victim and Ms Connor, who appeared to have substantial bite marks around her finger.
The Australian woman's boyfriend is set to reveal the "complete story" about what happened on the night, according to his lawyer.
On Sunday Mr Taylor's lawyer Haposan Sihombing said he met with his client and explained to him "Indonesian laws".
"Incriminating factor is when the suspect not co-operative, beating around the bush, not admitting his mistake and it will cause harsher punishment. I told him so that he could think about it tonight because tomorrow, you will be examined again," Mr Sihombing told reporters.
According to Mr Sihombing, Mr Taylor has previously said that Ms Connor had complained to him that she had been attacked by a "bad cop" at Kuta Beach on the night Mr Sudarsa was found dead.
"She told him that she was pushed and he lay on top of her on the sand," Mr Sihombing said.
"She screamed and there were some people helping her. And then the police officer left."
Mr Sihombing said his client Mr Taylor would "tell the whole truth tomorrow".
"What will he say? Let's wait."
Mr Sihombing said he told Mr Taylor that he had defended Bali Nine member Renae Lawrence, adding "she got 20 years while others got death and life in jail. He knows that".
It is understood Mr Taylor left Britain a few years ago before moving to New Zealand and then Australia.
According to Mr Siregar, Ms Connor and Mr Taylor had known each other for a few years but had only begun dating three months ago.
That night Mr Taylor had picked her up from the airport and they had gone to a restaurant before heading to the beach.
She had been drinking, he added, but was not drunk.
According to the lawyer, the couple moved to another hotel after the alleged incident, where a friend called from Australia and told them according to news reports they were wanted by police.
She advised they go to the Australian Consulate-General in Denpasar, where they were arrested on Friday afternoon after police put out an immigration alert to stop them leaving the island.
Mr Sihombing said his client had been interrogated by police from 2pm to 7pm on Saturday, during which he was asked 35 questions, but had not confessed to the murder.
On Sunday Mr Sudarsa's body was carried through the streets from his family home in Kelan, south of Kuta, to a nearby cemetery where he had a military ceremony.
Denpasar Police chief Hadi Purnomo said the couple admitted they had clashed with Mr Wayan shortly before he was found dead.
The altercation reportedly began when Ms Connor asked for help over her missing handbag.
"Sara (Connor) said that she clashed with the victim at the beach gate. They had pulled each other," Mr Purnomo told The Daily Telegraph.
"Sara said because her bag was gone she asked for help from the victim but then they pulled each other."
Mr Siregar, who also represented convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby, said Ms Connor will face three alternate charges of murder, manslaughter and assault causing death.
Mr Taylor is understood to be facing the same charges.
Mr Siregar said Ms Connor was exhausted and missed her two children, aged 9 and 11.
"She's sad, of course, that's normal. She's tired," he said.
Despite reports Ms Connor said she was too drunk to remember the incident, her lawyer insisted she was not intoxicated.
Ms Connor's black leather purse, her driver's license and a credit card were also found near the body.
Police searched what is believed to be Ms Connor's hotel room on Thursday and claimed to have found blood on the bed, doors, walls and floor.
A towel was also found in the hotel with a blood stain on it, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.
After spending their first night in custody in Bali, the pair were taken to Kuta Beach at dawn where they were asked to carry out a re-enactment.
"We wanted to find out the suspects' position during the incident and the suspects admitted that they were there," Police Chief Purnomo said.
They were also taken to the nearby Kubu Kau Beach Inn - the hotel where Mr Taylor was staying before heading to Trijata Hospital in Denpasar.
Mr Taylor is believed to have entered Bali on July 29 while Ms Connor came on August 16.
The victim's brother Putu Yudi Krisna said the victim had been a policeman for 35 years.
"He's a kind person, loving his family and living modestly. He had two children and so far, he had no enemies whatsoever. We're very shocked," he said.
