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JAKARTA - Indonesian prosecutors say they are likely to push for the death penalty for a Queensland woman found with 4.1 kilograms of marijuana at Denpasar airport in Bali.
They said the amount of marijuana found in Schapelle Leigh Corby's body board bag meant they would "probably" charge her with an offence carrying the death penalty.
Ida Bagus Wiswantanu, of the Bali Prosecutor's Office, said after briefly examining the police allegations against Corby yesterday that it appeared there was a strong case to push for the maximum sentence.
Mr Wiswantanu said Indonesian law did not differentiate between heroin and marijuana.
"It's clear, the quantity will determine the impact on society, whether it's 4.1 kilograms or 0.1 grams," Mr Wismantanu said. The head of Bali's drug squad, Lieutenant-Colonel Bambang Sugiarto, said: "It's a drug case and it must be the toughest so that it will intimidate others who try to copy her. "There are warnings about the penalties at the airport in many areas, so we need to do this."
Mr Wismantanu said Corby was likely to be charged under three sections of Indonesia's drug laws, including the most serious, "which is death for trafficking or importing narcotics". The 27-year-old Gold Coast beauty student was arrested at Denpasar airport on October 8 when she arrived in Bali to begin a holiday to celebrate the 38th birthday of her sister, Mercedes, who lives in Bali with her Balinese husband.
She has always insisted she is innocent and knows nothing about the large, vacuum-sealed, plastic bag of marijuana found in her unlocked body-board bag. Her lawyer, Lily Sri Rahayu Lubis, complained yesterday that media reports had already "crucified" Corby by portraying her as guilty when she knew her to be innocent. Ms Lubis said that before Corby could be convicted under the most serious section of the law, prosecutors would have to prove her guilty of a lesser charge, which prohibits possession of narcotics.
Before a death sentence could be obtained it would have to be proved that Corby had a network to distribute drugs. She said police had been good to her client, and friends and relatives had been able to bring her food and drink and books. Indonesian police yesterday delivered to the prosecutor's office their dossier that they said included the records of interview with Corby and nine witnesses. Prosecutors can now study that document for 14 days before deciding if they want more information from the police.
Once they have the information they need, they will produce an indictment setting out the charges present it to the court, which must set a trial date. Ms Lubis said Corby's case was unlikely to begin until next year. Lieutenant-Colonel Sugiarto said police were still running tests on the cannabis to see whether it came from Australia or was grown in Indonesia.
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