INDONESIA_ BALI DRUG CASE BOY MAY SEE RELEASE FOR REHAB

BALI DRUG CASE BOY MAY SEE RELEASE FOR REHAB

Indonesia correspondent, ABC
October 10, 2011, 11:39 pm


•Bali boy may avoid jail
The Australian teenager in a Bali jail may be charged under a law the could see him avoid a jail sentence.

Bali police say they will pursue the case of a 14-year-old New South Wales boy arrested for drug possession under a law that could see him released for rehabilitation.

The head of Bali's drug squad, Superintendent Mulyadi, has told the ABC the boy will be dealt with under the law applying to minors who need treatment for a drug problem.

Under article 128 of Indonesian narcotics laws, those caught with a small amount of the drug are able to be released if they are defined as a frequent user.

The boy would still face court, but his parents would have to ensure he completed his rehabilitation. If they failed to report regularly, they could be jailed instead for up to six months.

But the case to have him released for rehabilitation instead of being sent to jail still needs to be proved in court.

Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, spent about 45 minutes with Superintendent Mulyadi on Monday, reviewing the laws that may apply to the case.

The boy from Morisset Park, north of Newcastle, was arrested last week, accused of buying a small amount of marijuana in Bali.

Mr Moriarty, who saw the 14-year-old for a second time on Sunday, says the case remains his top priority.

"We've talked to the Indonesian authorities about the range of issues, with our primary focus being the welfare of this boy and his family," he said.

"And we're going to be devoting all of our efforts to that consular aspect; to try and have the case expedited as quickly as possible so that he can return to Australia."

A psychiatrist who examined the boy on Friday is completing a report arguing that he should not be held in stressful conditions at the police station.

The lawyer for the boy says Indonesian police have completed their investigation.

Fight for attention

Meanwhile, Deputy Opposition Leader Julie Bishop says it is unseemly to see Foreign Affairs Minister Kevin Rudd and Prime Minister Julia Gillard competing for media attention over the case.

On Friday Mr Rudd discussed the boy's case in two press conferences and news emerged Monday that Ms Gillard had spoken to the teenager on the phone.

Ms Gillard's office says she offered reassurance, telling the boy and his father the Government is doing everything it can to return him to Australia.

Her office says she is following the situation closely and with concern.

But Ms Bishop says both are engaging in political posturing.

"It's rather unseemly to watch the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister competing for air time," she said.

The boy is from Climate Change Minister Greg Combet's electorate, and he says his office has also been in touch with the teenager's family.

"I'm actually very pleased that the Foreign Minister and the Prime Minister are so directly involved in it," he said.

Ms Bishop has been briefed by the Foreign Affairs Department and says the Coalition is cautiously hopeful, but not optimistic, the boy will be able to return to Australia soon.

Children in prison

Bali has its own drug rehabilitation programs and non-government organisations with health workers trained in the field, but experts in juvenile welfare there do not regularly deal with minors.

In the justice system, the rights of Indonesian children are often abused.

As well as more infamous inmates like the Bali Nine and Schapelle Corby, the island's Kerobokan prison is home to 10 children - nine boys and one girl.

During the day, they mix with adult thieves, bashers and drug dealers.

At night, the boys cram into two cells of their own to be separate from the men, but the girl sleeps in the same cell as the adults in the women's wing.

Four of the children have been jailed for working as runners for local drug dealers. A psychiatrist who has been dealing with them says they were all incarcerated without going through a formal judicial process.

It is a little known fact that Bali does have another place to detain children convicted of a crime.

The Gianyar children's prison at Karangasem, in Bali's impoverished east, is home to 17 inmates - only two of them go to school.

The rest are kept busy with chores, sports and some educational activities including programs to improve their ability to read and write.

Either way, it is a far cry from the Australian boy's high school in a coastal suburb near Newcastle in New South Wales.


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