Political journalist Barry Soper may be a big name in New Zealand, but in Indonesia he was just an unsuspecting tourist a traffic cop tried to con.

Soper and his wife, TVNZ journalist Heather du Plessis-Allan, were on holiday in Bali last week when police fined him NZ$100 for failing to stop for a red light.

The NewstalkZB journalist was riding a hired motorbike through a busy intersection when a police officer flagged him down.

"In Bali intersections are a free for all," said Soper. "If they're controlled by lights, a red doesn't necessarily mean stop.

"If you're in the middle of the swarm, it's impossible to stop anyway without running the risk of injury."

Soper was taken to a nearby police post, 100 metres from the infamous Kerobokan Prison - where the Bali Nine are being held.

Police fined him a million rupiah (NZ$107) for running the red light and not carrying his licence.

"Immediately on flashing what looked like an official ticket book [the officer] said court could be avoided if he was paid 250,000 rupiah [NZ$27] there on the spot."

Soper tried to bargain with the police officer, offering half of what he had asked for.

The officer refused and Soper, who was now joined by his wife, said they would prefer to pay the ticket. But the officer was insistent and offered to drop the price of the bribe - by this point a senior officer became involved.

It wasn't until Soper told the police he was a journalist in New Zealand and would write about the incident that the senior officer let him go.

"Being caught paying a policeman a bribe would be unthinkable back home."

Two years ago at the same intersection, Dutch journalist Kees van der Spek was offered a similar bribe but instead paid and recorded the incident.

Van der Spek was investigated by Indonesian police for paying the bribe after the video was posted to YouTube.

Soper said the small incident highlights significant corruption problems in the popular holiday destination for Kiwi tourists.

"Money is the god there and if you get into trouble with the authorities and haven't got it then you're on your own."

Neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade or the New Zealand embassy in Jakarta have been approached about the issue from other holidaymakers.

A ministry spokesperson said in any event travellers to Bali should register their details with Safetravel and pay attention to general travel advice.

POLICE BRIBE SCANDAL

Indonesia's controversial new police chief frontrunner may have funnelled millions of dollars in bribes through New Zealand, according to the country's anti-corruption commission.

In hearings before Indonesia's parliament last week to decide if Budi Gunawan was a "fit and proper" person to hold the rank of police chief, it emerged that US$5.9m (NZ$7.9m) had passed between a company registered in Dunedin, Pacific Blue International, and Gunawan's then-19-year-old son in 2005.

Gunawan is suspected of receiving illicit money when spearheading the National Police's Career Development Bureau, Indonesian media reported.

When Indonesia's new president, Joko Widodo, put Gunawan forward as as his preferred candidate for police chief, the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) announced that Gunawan had been under investigation for six months over suspicious transactions. Widodo suspended his inauguration until the inquiry is complete.

Nico Francken, former Pacific Blue International director, said the company was set up on the instructions of a Singapore-based Chinese lawyer called "Mr Fong".Francken runs In Asset Management, a multinational trust company providing corporate services and business structures. He said Pacific Blue was struck off the companies register in 2013 because In Asset Management's bill was not paid.