Who is Leia Se? Influencer paints face mask instead of wearing one in viral video, faces deportation in Bali
In an attempt to prank people at a supermarket with painted-on masks instead of wearing real ones, two influencers ended up getting their passports seized in Bali, Indonesia.
In a video of the failed prank created by the two social media personalities, the pair can be seen wandering the aisles while the woman among them tries to avoid onlookers calling them out. Identified as Leia Se and Josh Paler Lin, the two are now being considered for deportation after the video went viral, and this was confirmed by Indonesian immigration authorities.
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Who is Leia Se?
Reportedly a Russian national, Leia is on Instagram under the username @lisha0902 and brags of some 25.2K followers. She was recently spotted in a prank video by her followers, where she wandered about a store with a surgical mask painted on her face. She even had the white strings drawn as lines leading to her ears to mimic the straps. Leia tries to avoid onlookers spotting her fake mask in the video, but the internet couldn't be stopped from slamming them as the clip went viral.
Currently, with her passport seized by the authorities and the duo facing deportation, Leia also faces a hefty fine under Bali's mandatory mask rule. The fine for being caught without a mask for the first time is IDR1 million (US$68.76) for international citizens. A second violation may subject them to deportation.
The apology video
After the video was scrutinized by the authorities, Putu Surya Dharma, a spokesperson from the regional office for the Ministry of Law and Human Rights, revealed that Public Order Agency (Satpol PP) officers will question the influencers. According to Coconuts Bali, he commented: "After that they will be examined together with immigration to take the decision on whether or not to deport them." The head of Bali Civil Service Police, Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi, shared that the agency is considering issuing a letter recommending deportation as Josh and Leia’s actions "are not only violating, but deliberately provoking in public, so it’s only proper to sanction them more severely, not just with a fine but also deportation".
As the issue gained spotlight on social media and amid severe backlash, the two influencers released an apology video, where they sat with a legal team and claimed that there was no intent to disrespect the mask mandate. Claiming it wasn't to encourage people to not wear masks, the influencers said they just wanted to "entertain people". Josh said, "I did not realize that what I did could… raise a lot of concerns. Once again we want to apologize for what we did and we promise not to do it again." He added: "Always wear a mask for our own safety and health (and) so we can help Bali to gain its tourism again."
Following the viral infamy of the video, the two of them had made their Instagram accounts private, but they went public right after posting the apology video. An influencer by the name of Niluh Djelantik reshared Josh's video on her Instagram page, calling the attention of authorities in Bali against the kind of prank the influencers were up to.
