Life is Healthy

Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana, April 12, 2010

Convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby has taken the necessary legal steps to formally appeal to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono for clemency and release from prison or for a reduction of her sentence for humanitarian reasons because she is mentally ill.

Corby’s appeal claims that she has become insane during her time at Kerobokan Prison in Bali.

The former beauty therapist, an Australian citizen, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after she was arrested at Denpasar’s Ngurah Rai Airport in October 2004 carrying 4.1 kilograms of marijuana.

“The papers have been sent off [to the Supreme Court] on March 31,” said Gede Ketut Rantam, a court clerk at the Denpasar District Court.

He said the Supreme Court would forward the documentation to Yudhoyono.

“Considering that there is a formal criminal sentence, the convict has requested clemency from the Indonesian president in the form of a reduction in sentence, or release from jail,” said the appeal, which was forwarded by Corby through her lawyer, Iskandar Nawing. Last August, a psychiatrist reported that Corby’s mental health was deteriorating.

A decision from Yudhoyono could take many months.

Aside from documentation of rulings issued in the case, letters from two separate psychiatrists, one from Denny Thong, who examined Corby for a five-day period last May, were attached to the request for clemency.

Denny’s letter states that Corby is suffering from severe depression and is showing symptoms of psychosis, and recommends that she be moved to an environment which could provide her with proper, regulated medication in order to deal with her condition. Another psychiatric examination by Jonathan Phillips was conducted on Aug. 13, 2009.

Phillips again evaluated Corby during a visit to her prison in Bali this month and warned that her mental health was rapidly deteriorating.

“She is lost in her own bewildering world where fantasy, hallucinations and bizarre ideas dominate her mind,” Phillips said, according to a report in New Idea magazine.

Phillips, a former president of the Psychiatrist’s Guild of Australia and New Zealand, said Corby was “hanging by a thread” and needed to be moved.

Denpasar. Prosecutors are seeking a 15-year jail term for an Australian accused of smuggling drugs into the country.

Robert Paul McJannett, 48, was arrested in Ngurah Rai International Airport after his Virgin Blue flight from Perth landed on Dec. 28. When his luggage passed through an X-ray machine, a customs officer detected a suspicious box inside his suitcase.

According to customs, the officer discovered 1.7 grams of marijuana hidden in a folded sheet of metal tucked into black socks in the trade unionist’s luggage.

“We ask the judges to convict him to 15 years in prison,” said Nyoman Sucitrawan at McJannett’s indictment on Tuesday.

Prosecutors charged McJannett with violating at least three articles of the country’s Narcotics Law.

Bali Police said that when questioned, McJannett admitted to using the drug on the day he flew to Bali.

“[McJannett said] his purpose for smoking marijuana is just to make him sleep,” Sucitrawan said. Drug tests indicated the presence of drugs in McJannett’s urine and blood.

In response to the indictment, the accused’s attorney, Nyoman Gede Sudiantara, said he would not file an exception or defense memorandum.

“We asked judges to continue the trial with witness examination,” Sudiantara said.

In January, McJannett claimed he had been set up, saying he believed the marijuana allegedly found in his luggage had been wrapped in metal deliberately to set off X-ray machines.

The defendant told The Australian newspaper that he suffered from Meniere’s disease, diverticulitis, hepatitis C and a lung infection. He said his medications had been taken from him when he was charged.

“There’s smokers everywhere and every time I’m exposed to that it aggravates my childhood asthma,” he said.

McJannett ran in the last two elections for assistant secretary of Australia’s Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union, losing both times to incumbent Joe McDonald.

In a Jan. 1 interview with The Australian newspaper, McJannett claimed that the leaders of the powerful trade union “hate my guts” and accused them of setting him up with the narcotics.

Jakarta Globe, February 22, 2010

An Indonesian court on Monday approved the extradition to Australia of a man wanted on drugs charges there.

Timothy Geoffrey Lee, 45, was arrested on the resort island of Bali last month at the request of Australian police, officials said.

“We accept the request from the Australian government... to extradite Australian citizen Timothy Geoffrey Lee,” judge Daniel Palitin told Denpasar district court.

Lee, who also holds a British passport, is wanted over the alleged possession of chemicals used to make methamphetamines linked to a multi-million-dollar drugs bust in New South Wales in 2006.

The suspect will be held in Bali’s Kerobokan prison until President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signs off on the extradition request and a date is fixed, prosecutors said.

AFP

Wrong kind of publicity: Drug smuggling and money laundering suspect Timothy Geoffrey Lee shields his face from reporters’ cameras after being questioned at the Bali Prosecutor’s Office in Denpasar, on Friday. He faces extradition to his native Australia, where he has warrants outstanding. JP/Stanny Angga

An Australian national suspected of committing drug trafficking and money laundering faces extradition at the Denpasar District Court this week.

Timothy Geoffrey Lee, a fugitive of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested by the Bali Police last month, will stand trial on Tuesday or Thursday in relation to his extradition, which has been requested by the Australian government to the Indonesian government.

Accompanied by his lawyer, Timothy on Friday underwent verification of the suspect’s dossier handed from the police to the District Prosecutors’ Office.

Head of execution and examination at the prosecutors’ office, Ida Bagus Made Argita Chandra, confirmed that the extradition would be ruled by the Denpasar District Court.

“The attorney general will then submit the court ruling to the President for approval. After the process is completed, the Indonesian government can extradite the suspect,” Chandra said.

Timothy’s lawyer Erwin Siregar said that his client would only be tried here concerning his extradition, while his alleged involvement in drug trafficking and money laundering would be taken to the Australian court. “We expect that the extradition may be completed by April, so that my client’s case can immediately continue with the legal process in his country,” Erwin said.

The lawyer said extradition usually takes between six months to a year, but he would continue to monitor the extradition to ensure it was completed earlier. He said he had also requested for voluntary deportation for his client since the process required simpler procedures than extradition, but voluntary deportation could only be carried out if the Australian Government had annulled the extradition request.

“We have asked the Australian government to withdraw the extradition request and we’re waiting for its reply.”

The Bali Police began searching for Timothy after receiving a Red Notice from the AFP on November last year and managed to arrest the 44-year-old fugitive on Jan. 9 in Kuta district. The AFP suspected Timothy for committing drug trafficking and dealing with proceeds of the crime. The AFP noted in its letter to the Bali Police that Lee left Melbourne for Bali around July 2006.

The federal police seized 1 kilogram of cocaine, 44 kilograms of MDMA tablets and powder, 45 liters of MDMA oil and equipment used for drug making.

Whilst most of us have been sleeping or working, a comet called Comet McNaught has been making its way across the skies.

Comet McNaught, which is set to shine brighter than the planet Venus this weekend, was caught on camera at sunset when it is at its best.

The newly discovered comet, first observed in Australia last August, is three times more dazzling than Hale-Bopp in 1997. Tomorrow the star will sweep within 15.8 million miles of the sun and continue glowing until Monday.

These are some of the views of the brightest comet for 32 years. For a comparison this is a camera shot from New Zealand a friend sent and one from London I found.

Apart from all the heavenly activity this week has been quite quiet. Busy doing nothing, you know the sort of days - you seem to be always on the go, but at the end of the day you have nothing to show for it?!

However we are getting quite familiar with London now, and I have bought some cool black Jewellery for my piercings.