'Bra boy' slammed for appeal to raise $20,000 for fire-damaged Bali rental villa
'Bra boy' Koby Abberton has been criticised for trying to fundraise $20,000 to fix his Bali villa rental after it was damaged in a fire.
On Wednesday, Mr Abberton said he, his wife Olya and their two-year-old son Makua were awoken by a noise downstairs and found a fire had been sparked behind the television.
The 38-year-old, who was a member of the Bra Boys gang from Sydney's Maroubra beach, said they were forced to escape out of the third floor window and jump into the pool.
On Friday, he started a GoFundMe page to raise $20,000 for the family to "get back on their feet".
But many were quick to criticise Abberton, calling on him to "get a job" and questioning why he was raising money to pay for a property he doesn't own.
"Why are you rebuilding someone else's house you don't own? Surely the owner's have insurance?" One person asked on social media.
Abberton and his wife, a model from the Ukraine, have raised $10,000 since the GoFundMe page was launched.
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They created a video in the burned villa saying they "really needed help".
"Last night after we went to bed I heard a noise downstairs and I thought someone was in the house," Olya Nechiporenko said.
"I opened the door and all the smoke started coming in and we couldn't see.
"We grabbed Makua from the cot and we climbed onto the roof and jumped into the pool from the third floor with Makua in our hands."
In a post on the GoFundMe page, Abberton said he put every last cent into the home during the two year lease.
"What was our newly renovated dream home for our son and a blessing for the owners is now so badly damaged by fire and smoke that we can’t stay until we repair it," he said.
"The electrical main is in question, the walls and furniture are badly burned, thick black smokey film covers the freshly painted walls, and our rental contract with the landlord is possibly in question.
"I work 3 weeks on in Australia, and then I spend one week here with my family to provide a roof over their heads. We need your help."
Koby and his brothers, Sunny and Jai, gained attention around the world with the release of Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water.
The documentary film released in 2007 is about the surf gang the Bra Boys from Sydney's Maroubra Beach.
