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Influencers kicked off Bali over fake mask prank

A US-based YouTuber and a Russian influencer have been ordered to leave Bali after recording themselves defying mandatory mask-wearing orders with some imaginative makeup.

Clips of the video created by Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se, posted two weeks ago, show the two duping supermarket guards with a painted surgical mask after they were refused entry because Se was unmasked.

"Did you notice like no one's actually looking at you?" Lin exclaimed.

"I can't believe it worked," he said in the video, which appears to have been taken down from his social media accounts but has since been reposted elsewhere.

Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se have been ordered to leave Bali after a viral prank involving a painted face mask which flouted Covid rules. Source: Instagram/niluhdjelantik
Josh Paler Lin and Leia Se have been ordered to leave Bali after a viral prank involving a painted face mask which flouted Covid rules. Source: Instagram/niluhdjelantik

Lin is a Taiwanese passport-holder whose YouTube channel specialises in prank videos and is followed by 3.4 million fans. Se has more than 25,000 Instagram followers.

Although first-time violators of Bali's mask-wearing rule face fines of one million rupiah ($A90) for foreigners and deportation after a second offence, police wanted them removed from the Indonesian island immediately.

"It's only proper to sanction them more severely, not just with a fine but also deportation," Bali's civil service police unit head Dewa Nyoman Rai Dharmadi said.

"They are not only violating, but deliberately provoking in public to defy health guidelines."

The pair had shown remorse and apologised through Lin's Instagram video.

Russian influencer Leia Se, centre, walks from the immigration office at Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia on Friday, April 30, 2021
Russian influencer Leia Se, centre, has been asked to leave Bali, along with a US-based YouTuber. Source: AP

"I made this video to entertain people because I'm a content creator and it's my job to entertain people," Lin said.

"However, I did not realise that what I did could actually bring a lot of negative comments," he added, advising people to always wear masks and invite everyone to help Bali regain its tourism.

Jamaruli Manihuruk, who heads the Bali regional office for the Justice and Human Rights Ministry, said Lin and Se will be deported as soon as possible after they are tested for COVID-19.

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