Perth Man Jailed Over Bali Drugs
An Australian man will be deported from Indonesia after he serves a five-month jail term for hashish possession, a Bali court has ruled. David Bruce Houston, 38, of Perth, was sentenced Tuesday (13/5) in Bali’s Denpasar District Court after police, acting on a tip-off, found 2.9 grams of hashish in his pocket, outside his Kuta home in January. During his trial, Houston admitted he was a drug addict and said he used marijuana regularly to relieve back pain since a fall in 1995.The court accepted that he had used the drug to manage his pain, and handed him a five-and-a-half month sentence. But it ruled he should be sent home after his sentence was served. Prosecutors had sought an eight-month term. Houston’s lawyer Erwin Siregar told reporters his client accepted the outcome. “We’ve lost, but we accept it,” he said. May 13th 2009, AFP)
Six Indonesian Sect Members Seek Asylum in Australian
Consulate - Bali
Six members of Muslim’s Ahmadiyah sect attended the Australian consulate general’s office in Bali on Thursday (15/5) looking for asylum, but were denied entry. The six came from Lombok, the capital of West Nusa Tenggara province just east of the resort island, reported leading news website Detikcom. “We came here looking for asylum because living in our homeland is no longer safe,” the group’s leader named Sahidin was quoted as saying. He said the six-man group were representing 195 Ahmadiyah members who were forced from their homes and now staying at refugee camps in West Nusa Tenggara. But since the consulate general kept the door shut, they planned to picket other foreign mission offices on the island. “We may go to the German consulate, or any other consulates that will accept us,” Sahidin said. The Ahmadiyah existence has sparked violence in the world’s most populous Muslim nation as it doesn’t recognize Muhammad as Islam’s last prophet. Many Ahmadiyah mosques across the country have been burned down by hardliners and the sect also has become the subject of other acts of vandalism, including destruction of its members’ homes. (May 15th 2008, Xinhua)
Man Charged Over Aussie’s Murder in Bali
An Indonesian construction worker could be jailed for life for helping his friend, accused of murdering Sydney woman Heidi Murphy in Bali, flee from the crime scene. Nuryanto Bin Sudar, 28, was on Monday formally charged with being an accomplice to the February 9 murder of the 34-year-old Australian on the Indonesian resort island. Bali’s Denpasar District Court was told Nuryanto had dropped accused murderer Fahrul Rosi outside Murphy’s North Kuta home, which had been chosen as a burglary target. Several hours later Nuryanto returned on his motorcycle to collect Rosi, after Rosi called him using Murphy’s mobile phone, the court was told. Rosi, who was formally charged with murder last week, allegedly stole two mobile phones, a laptop computer and cash from Murphy’s villa. The court was told Rosi gave some of the cash to Nuryanto for helping him flee from the crime scene to the nearby island of Java. Authorities have charged Nuryanto with murder with intent to steal, which carries a maximum life sentence. (May 19th 2008, AAP)
Australian Fisherman Jailed in Bali
An Australian fisherman has been jailed for six months for heroin use on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. Franklin Brett Maxwell, 45, of Darwin, is expected to be released in July, following his arrest in January this year. Denpasar District Court today found him “officially and convincingly guilty” of drug use, which had carried a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment. A second charge of drug possession, which carried a 10-year jail term, was dropped. Maxwell was arrested in January after police, acting on a tip-off, found 0.4 grams of heroin inside his motorcycle helmet in Kuta. He admitted buying the drug from a woman for 800,000 rupiah (about $88). Judge Sigit Sutanto described Maxwell as a “victim” of drug addiction for 20 years. “The defendant is actually a victim and has tried hard to be cured, but it’s not over yet,” Judge Sutanto said. He said Maxwell’s sentence was reduced because he admitted the crime and had no previous convictions. Maxwell is one of three Australians who have been handed short jail terms this month for recent drug offences in Bali. (May 23rd 2008, AAP)
Kites and Helicopters Don’t Mix in Bali
In less than a month, Air Bali has made two emergency landings of its helicopters with passengers aboard. The latest incident took place on Saturday, May 17, 2008, when a Bell Helicopter chartered by the Company was forced to make an unscheduled landing in the playground of a Junior High School in Bali’s capital of Denpasar. The earlier incident took place less than one month earlier on April 23, 2008, when another Air Bali helicopter operated made a hard landing on Lebih Beach. Although passengers were on board in both flights, no serious injuries were reported. According to local press reports, a subsequent inspection of the helicopter revealed a substantial amount of kite string entangled on the aircrafts rotor blades. Kite flying is a popular seasonal pastime in Bali, oftentimes involving huge kites secured by large gauge strings and wire. The cause of numerous power outages and an acknowledged threat to aviation, loosely enforced regulations are in place that limit the areas and the maximum permitted height for kite flying in Bali. The playground of the school used for the landing was empty at the time of the incident, but local residents were reportedly momentarily panicked by the sudden appearance of a helicopter in their neighborhood. Both the Air Bali helicopters involved in both incidents are owned by a Jakarta-based charter company - Derazona and leased to Air Bali. While both landings are under investigation, aviation officials have given high marks to both pilots for the way in which they handled an emergency landing. (May 17th 2008, www.balidiscovery.com)
Fears Noordin Top Evades Massive Manhunt
South East Asia’s most wanted terror suspect accused of directing the 2002 Bali bombings may have evaded a massive manhunt and fled Indonesia, according to police interrogation documents. The documents, obtained by the Associated Press, include interviews with two senior Indonesian members of the Jeemah Islamiah network; the same network suspected terrorist Noordin Top belongs to. Indonesia’s Abu Husna and Agus Purwantoro were arrested en route to Malaysia in March during their escape bid to link up with terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Husna and Purwantoro told investigators an Algerian contact in Jakarta helped them obtain plane tickets, fake passports and gave them contacts in Syria, according to the investigation reports. While discussing Husna’s planned journey, the Algerian “Jafar” is quoted as saying: “Do you know that Noordin Top has escaped?” Husna said he didn’t and asked Jafar how he knew that. Jafar replied that it was a secret. A senior Indonesian anti-terror officier said today that police were still “crosschecking” the information, the Associated Press reported. If confirmed, Top’s escape will be a blow to Indonesia, which has been praised for its recent wins in the fight against terror. Top, believed to head a breakaway faction of Jemaah Islamiah committed to al-Qaeda style attacks on Western and civilian targets, is also accused of three other attacks on Western targets in Indonesia that have together killed more than 240 people, most of them foreign tourists. (May 19th 2008, News.com.au)
Government Announces Fuel Price Increase
Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro announced here that an increase in fuel oil prices starting on midnight Friday (23/5).
The minister said the government increased the price of premium gasoline from Rp4,500 to Rp6,000 per liter, diesel oil from Rp4,300 tp Rp5,500 and kerosene from Rp2,000 to Rp2,500. In the meantime, the government has allocated Rp14,1 trillion for a cash transfer program for some 19,1 million low-income families across the country. Each family was expected to receive Rp100,000 per month in 18 months. It was earlier reported that the House of Representatives (DPR) cancelled its plan to invite President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to a meeting to discuss the government’s planned increase in fuel oil prices.Following the House leaders` opposition to the plan last week, House Speaker Agung Laksono said the Legislative Assembly planned to invite the president for a clarification of the government’s plan to increase fuel oil prices and actually the head of state was ready to meet the request. The government’s decision on the fuel oil price hike was an attempt to reduce the state budget deficit caused by the soaring world crude oil prices. (May 23rd 2008, Antara News)
Qantas & Jetstar Take Their Hand off the
Throttle to Save Fuel
Australian airlines Qantas and Jetstar have slowed their planes’ flying speed in a bid to beat soaring jet fuel costs. Jetstar has been flying more slowly since last month to conserve fuel, adding several minutes to flights, News Ltd reports today. A Qantas spokesman, which owns Jetstar, confirmed its planes had been using variable speeds to cut fuel consumption for the past two years. A Virgin Blue spokeswoman said while it had not altered cruising speeds it was considering slowing its planes during descent. The practice is expected to save airlines millions of dollars and reduce upward pressure on airfares. Qantas yesterday said it will increase international fares by four per cent and domestic fares by three per cent from June 4. (May 25th 2008, Asia Pulse)
Two Tourists Drown in Bali Waters
Two tourists have drowned in separate incidents in Bali. The body of 23 year old Swedish tourist Don Algoz was washed up on Kuta beach in early April, but has only just been identified as being the remains of Mr. Algoz. The family of the man have requested a full investigation into his death. Dutch tourist Fetrus Soeman (59) drowned off the Blue Lagoon Beach, Padang Bai at approximately 3pm on Thursday (22/5). The man had been snorkeling despite the fact that there was a strong undertow and the waves were large. Fetrus was assisted from the water by local residents however he could not be resuscitated. (May 24th 2008, Bali Post)
Korean Expatriate Man Tortured / Murdered in Sanur
South Denpasar Police arrested 10 people suspected of abducting, torturing and killing a Korean businessman. The suspects include four South Korean citizens, who told police the victim owed them Rp 30 billion. The South Korean suspects have been identified as Kim Dong Soo, Joo Jia Tai, Bay Yon Chul and Young Jung Jay. The other six suspects are local residents who are members of an organization that provides unofficial security services, including personal protection and debt collection. They were identified as Jaya, Merta, Armed, Andre, Angga and Gaian. The case came to the police’s attention Thursday when the three Korean suspects --Kim Dong Soo, Joo Jia Tai and Bay Yon Chul-- reported the death of the victim, Kim Jung Tai, 52. They claimed the victim had committed suicide by hanging himself in the bathroom of Villa Dampati in Sanur. The villa was the temporary residence of the three suspects during their stay in Bali. Forensic officers and investigating detectives, however, found too many discrepancies in the story and at the scene of the incident to call the case a suicide. The police specifically praised the victim’s servant as a valuable witness. The servant kept telling detectives that the victim had been abducted from his rented house on Jl. Danau Tempe, Sanur, about a week before his death. The victim was allegedly tortured until he paid his debt. The victim said he did not have the money and he was allegedly held captive at a location for six days, until being moved to Villa Dampati in Sanur on May 21. There, the suspects allegedly beat the victim to death. (May 26th 2008, Jakarta Post)
