INDONESIA: Indonesian prosecutors yesterday stopped short of demanding the death penalty for an Australian woman accused of smuggling drugs into the resort island of Bali, saying instead she should be jailed for life.
Beauty therapist Schapelle Corby (27), from Queensland's Gold Coast, wept after hearing the sentence request, which followed a call by Australia not to impose a death sentence.
"[ We] demand the district court of Denpasar. . . declare the defendant Schapelle Corby guilty of breaking the law by importing narcotics, and give a life sentence in jail to the defendant," prosecutor I D Wiswantanu told the court, where many of Ms Corby's family and friends were present.
She has been accused of smuggling 4.1kg of marijuana into Bali in 2004. The drugs were allegedly stashed in a bag containing a boogie board, or bodyboard.
Ms Corby denies knowing the drugs were there and her lawyers are investigating whether the marijuana was planted in her luggage.
Asked by a judge if she wanted to say anything in her defence, Ms Corby appeared too upset to respond.
The trial was adjourned until April 28th, when her lawyers will present arguments against the sentencing demand.
The sentencing request was made after delays in previous sessions because Ms Corby collapsed several times under stress and due to ill health, officials have said.
The Australian government had pleaded with Indonesia not to impose a death sentence on Ms Corby, whose case has attracted wide media attention and public interest in Australia at a time of improved relations with its mainly Muslim neighbour.
In another case making headlines, Indonesian police arrested nine Australians in Bali on Sunday for alleged heroin trafficking after a joint operation with Australian police.
Yesterday, Indonesian police said the eight men and one woman had formally been declared suspects. Indonesian police also lowered the stated amount of heroin seized to 8.3kg, from more than 11kg originally announced.
"The nine are now suspects," said Antonius Reniban, a spokesman for the Bali police, adding that final charges had yet to be worked out that would determine the sentence they could face.
Smugglers are using the resort island as a way-station for narcotics distribution, with much of the heroin coming from the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet, police say.
Under Indonesia's tough drug laws, traffickers can be executed by firing squad if found guilty.
Indonesian officials said customs officers found the marijuana in Ms Corby's bodyboard bag during a routine X-ray search when she arrived on a flight from Brisbane via Sydney. Indonesian foreign minister Hassan Wirajuda has said he saw little potential for any fallout on ties from such drug arrests.