In Reply to: Tennis Coach ...... son was approached posted by swt on Thursday, 18. May 2006 at 19:24 Bali Time:
A genuine person trying to do business which may appeal to young people may initially try to get the interest of the young ones, but he will know that the parents will be paying and that he will need to talk to them. What we have are repeated accounts of a man [or men] approaching young boys. Even if the parents are present, it seems as if they are not being approached.
A genuine person will be keen to hand out business cards with full contact details. Again, even if the young boys are initially approached, these cards need to be given to the parents personally, together with the sales presentation. It seems as if this may not be customarily happening.
I do not doubt that there are genuine tennis coaches trying to get business. Nick of BaliBlog, a tall adult Englishman, was approached in Seminyak a few weeks ago by a man offering to give tennis coaching. But who can blame parents for being extra careful in regard to their childrens' safety, both in Bali and elsewhere?
If this man [or men] have been trying to get business in this way for some time, as appears likely, then they would know that their direct approach to young boys method was not working. And as we all know, people in Bali learn quickly when it comes to street selling and they would have modified their technique.
This is just conjecture, but this is how it may be. If they are genuine tennis coaches, then they are probably not getting enough business to put rice on the table. But if they are scouting for well off foreigners, then they may get well rewarded for just an occasional success. Some previous threads have suggested that foreign men may be involved.
As some of you know, my son has a Balinese wife and has lived in Bali for several years. They have a son who is six in September. Their next door neighbour is a police officer with some seniority. I've met him and he is a nice guy. He is certainly a good friend and neighbour to Ron. My son is in Perth right now. I would like a copy of the photo to give to my son. Neither my son nor his neighbour will act like vigilanties, but it's always good to be informed.