Indonesia may release a 14-year-old Australian boy convicted of drug possession next week after a Bali court sentenced him to two months’ confinement.
The teenager has been in custody in Bali since Oct. 4, when police arrested him in the island’s Kuta district for allegedly possessing 3.6g of marijuana. Sky News broadcast yesterday’s sentencing live in Sydney. The court proceedings were translated into English.
The Australian government “welcomes the decision by the court in Bali concerning this young lad,” Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said after the sentencing, according to a transcript of his remarks.
He had said earlier that securing the boy’s release was “the No. 1 priority” for Australia’s ambassador in Indonesia. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard called the teen to offer him support.
Bali attracts more than one-third of all visitors to Indonesia with a mix of nightlife and surfing in the southern beach resorts near the airport, and rice terraces, temples and local culture around Ubud in the volcanic, mountainous center. Australian tourists in the first eight months of this year are set to exceed last year’s total of about 648,000, which was about five times more than in 2006, statistics from the Bali Tourism Board show.
The judge told the court the case had the potential to hurt tourism in Bali. He also said the teenager had shown a good attitude during the trial and apologized for the offense.
In 2004, Australian tourist Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years jail after being caught trying to smuggle 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali in the case of her boogie board.
Nine Australians, who became known as the “Bali Nine,” were arrested in April 2005 for attempting to export 8kg of heroin through the same airport on the island. All members of the group are in jail or face the death sentence.
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