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Australian Teen Locked Up in Bali 'Feeling Better'
October 09, 2011

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InfoSeeker
3:21pm Oct 10, 2011

Many questions come to mind after reading this article. Where were his parents when this happened? Did he know about the consequences of possessing marijuana in Indonesia? What kind of help is he getting from the Australian Embassy? What kind of legal services are available to him in Indonesia? I currently live in Thailand and know that ignorance of marijuana laws in Thailand leads to the arrest of many foreign tourists. However, I haven’t heard of anyone arrested in Thailand so young with this amount of cannabis and being tried as an adult. It is important to know the laws of a country before visiting, no matter what age you are. This boy probably thought that marijuana was legal in Indonesia or that he could get away with possession with minor penalties. Travelers must understand that laws change from country to country, and the notion of due process doesn’t exist worldwide.

Kesiangan
3:03pm Oct 10, 2011

OK, Orangjkt, now elaborate somewhat on the Indonesian judicial system.

barkhov
12:44pm Oct 10, 2011

OrangJkt, unless your real name is Wayan/Made/or anything in that fashion, you don't have the right to say Balinese don't need bule/tourist/whatever. Truth probably they need less Jkt people with B vehicles bringing their impatience to Bali's roads but spent even less than bules.

In similar manner, I've seen local traffic policemen frequently catch bule on their motorcycles. Sure, rules are rules, although somehow it's different when women wearing jilbabs instead of helmet can freely ride in the street right under the cops nose, I began to think jilbab is SNI approved for riders' safety.

Darwinista
12:33pm Oct 10, 2011

Legalize it - don't criticize it

Legalize it and i will advertise it

Some call it tampee

Some call it the weed

Some call it Marijuana

Some of them call it Ganja

Legalize it - don't criticize it

Legalize it and i will advertise it

Singer smoke it

And players of instruments too

Legalize it, yeah, yeah

That's the best thing you can do

Doctors smoke it

Nurses smoke it

Judges smoke it

Even the lawyers too

Legalize it - don't criticize it

Legalize it and i will advertise it

It's good for the flu

It's good for asthma

Good for tuberculosis

Even umara composis

Legalize it - don't criticize it

Legalize it and i will advertise it

Bird eat it

And they leave it

Fowls eat it

Goats love to play with it

Peter Tosh

muffinman
9:37am Oct 10, 2011

Orangjkt , don't let your skepticism consume you. Take some vitamin B. 6.9 grams ought to do it.


Denpasar. A 14-year-old Australian boy arrested for drug possession on Indonesia's resort island of Bali began his fifth night in a police cell in higher spirits on Saturday, his lawyer said.  

Police said the teenager, who was on a family holiday, was found with 6.9 grams of marijuana in the tourist area of Kuta.  

Earlier this week a psychologist said the youngster, who is detained alone in a police cell, was highly stressed and depressed.  

But his lawyer, Muhammad Rifan, told AFP on Saturday: "Psychologists have visited him again and he is in a much better condition, much better than before. He is calmer and has accepted the situation."  

Rifan said that after pressure from lawyers, Balinese police were now adhering to juvenile justice laws, which they had previously ignored.  

"For example, the police had informed him that the maximum sentence would be 12 years, when in fact for minors, the sentence is halved, so he now knows the maximum is six years," Rifan said.  

Police now understand that the examination of a minor in this situation must be finished as quickly as possible, in no more than 20 days, Rifan said.  

The Australian government has made the boy's release "top priority," with ambassador Greg Moriarty arriving in Bali from Jakarta Saturday on Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd's instructions.  

"We and the Australian community are trying to immediately bring the boy home, as soon as possible. But we still respect the law that applies here," Moriarty said.  

Rudd told Australian reporters the ambassador would first make contact with local and national police, as well as the boy's legal team and family.  

"People should be very, very aware that this may take a considerable period of time, and we are not guaranteed of success but we are working through the system," he said.  

"I spoke to his dad yesterday and we are working our way through the legal system with the single objective of getting this young fellow home as soon as we possibly can."  

The boy's father has been allowed to sleep in an office adjacent to the police cell. The family had been due to return home Sunday after the week-long holiday.  

The Australian media has said the arrest was part of a police sting, with witnesses saying that plain-clothes officers swooped on the boy and a friend after an alleged tip-off from the drug dealer.  

Police said the boy admitted paying 250,000 rupiah ($29) to a man, who reportedly told him he had not eaten for a day and needed money.  

Children face the same courts as adults in Indonesia, although juvenile justice laws offer some concessions to minors.  

Children are often jailed with adults, although Kerobokan prison, where the boy would spend his term, has a separate children's cell.  

Several Australians are housed in Kerobokan, including a man arrested last month in possession of methamphetamine, and several convicted drug traffickers — two on death row and six serving life sentences.  

Agence France-Presse