Bali police arrest 14 yo over drug posession

Alright, so I've been following this story since this morning. But basically what happened is this: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Quote :

A 14-year-old Australian boy has been detained by police in Bali after he was allegedly found with a small quantity of marijuana. The boy, from Newcastle in New South Wales, is understood to be in the custody of police in Denpasar.

He was arrested on Tuesday, and is understood to have been carrying 6.9 grams of marijuana. The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs says he has not yet been charged. His parents are in Bali with him and they are seeing a high profile lawyer who has previously handled the defence of other Australians on drug charges in Bali.

The boy is believed to be the youngest Australian arrested in Indonesia under the country's harsh anti-drugs laws. However, his lawyer, Mohammad Rifan, says he could be charged under provisions for juveniles, in which case the maximum penalty would only be six years. Under Indonesian law, there is no juvenile court system, so if he is charged the boy is likely to be placed in an adult prison.

Right from the start I knew something was suspicious about this. It's a general rule in Australia that if you purposely buy drugs you're a damn fool, but this... well... guess everyone's suspicions were right:

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Quote :

Bali Nine lawyer Julian McMahon suspects a 14-year-old Australian boy being held in Bali for alleged drug possession may have fallen victim to a police sting operation.

...

Julian McMahon told AM it is "quite likely" the boy was picked up during a sting.

"It seems to be what happens much of the time there," he said. "People spot Australians or Europeans who want to buy a drug. They sell it to them and the police are watching and get involved very quickly. And the person who sells the drug has some kind of arrangement where they would dob someone into the police - that is quite common."

If he goes to trial, the boy faces between two and six years in prison and could be jailed at Kerobokan Prison along with people like Schapelle Corby and members of the Bali Nine drug ring. The boy's Bali lawyers say that depending on his history of drug use and treatment in Australia, he could be released without going through a criminal trial.

Mr McMahon said that is was likely the court would simply return him to his parents. "I am only aware of a couple of cases where people under 18 have gone to jail and they're for significantly more amounts of drugs [than] from this guy I think," he said.

But he then added: "Oh actually one of them is less."

There's a reason I'm never going to Bali, and this is part of it. Of course, more information became available later on: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Quote :

A shopkeeper who witnessed the arrest of a 14-year-old NSW schoolboy in Bali for drugs possession said he was arrested in a set-up by Indonesian police.

The witness, who works at the Mirah Minimarket, said plain-clothes police officers were waiting for the Central Coast teen for hours because they had been tipped off that he bought 6.9 grams of marijuana earlier that day.

The arrest took place at 2pm on Tuesday after the boy and a friend left a foot massage salon in the Kuta tourist district, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

"It caused quite a commotion. A lot of people stopped and watched as they were being taken away," the shopkeeper was quoted saying.

He said four officers had been lurking outside his shop since 11am and another two were positioned near the beach, where the alleged drug deal took place.

The witness account suggests police were tipped off by the dealer or someone who saw the boy accepting the drugs.

The shopkeeper reportedly said the police did not search the boy or ask him any questions before leading him away.

He claimed he saw someone trying to film the arrest but a policeman grabbed their phone and deleted the video.

The boy's friend presumably was let go by police.

The teen remains at a Denpasar police station with his parents and his new lawyer, Muhammad Rifan.

Police sources have told the Daily Telegraph the boy told officers he was just trying to help a beggar who told the boy he had not eaten for a day and desperately needed money.

I feel so sorry for this kid. He likely had no idea what was happening - he just thought he was helping a man get food for the day. For all he could have known, the bag might have had a souvenir in it. This feels so incredibly wrong, and yet it's not considered wrong what they've done to the kid (I wouldn't be surprised if the parents were approached later by people wanting bribes in exchange for their son). I really hope he can be brought home safe, but who knows how this will end. Australia has tried so many times to get people out and failed because of the corrupt legal system over there. The very prospect of sending a 14 year old child to serve time in an adult prison terrifies me. I can barely even begin to wonder how the parents are dealing with this.

Arresting the buyers of drugs - especially overseas buyers - is not going to stop the drugs trade. The only thing that will stop them is catching dealers.

This is disgustingly corrupt.