home

Australian Faces 12 Years For Smoking Joint on Bali Beach

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Thu Jan 29, 2015 at 09:44:19 PM EST
Tags: Bali, Indonesia (all tags)
Share This: Digg! StumbleUpon del.icio.us reddit reddit

Police in Bali paraded Australian Nicholas James Langan, 25, before the media this week. His offense: he and an Indonesian acquaintance were caught sharing a joint on the beach. Police also showcased the joint, which contained less than one gram of pot. They also found a "roach" that weighed 1/10 of one gram. The combined weight was under one gram.

The penalty for drug possession (as opposed to trafficking for which the death penalty is authorized) is 4 to 12 years in prison. Using drugs carries an additional 5 year penalty. Police will ask prosecutors to charge them with both offenses. [More...]

North Kuta Police chief, Ronny Riantoko Eppang said it was alleged both men had confessed to consuming the marijuana. “NJL said that this is the second time he consumed marijuana. He consumed marijuana for first time in Australia,” Mr Eppang said.

Langan was on a surfing vacation in Bali. The Indonesian man was the driver for the villa he was staying at. The driver claimed he was given the joint for free while visiting the Bali bombing memorial site in Kuta. He and the Langan went to dinner, after which he invited Langan to share the joint. They went to beach to smoke it.

Police sent the joint and roach to the lab for testing and are took blood and urine specimens for the two men.

There are beautiful beaches all over the world. Please do not give Bali or Indonesia your tourist dollars.

< Deadline Passes Again, No Prisoner Swap | Indonesia Police Prepare for Bali 9 Executions >

  • The Online Magazine with Liberal coverage of crime-related political and injustice news

  • Contribute To TalkLeft


    • Display: Sort:
    Australian Faces 12 Years For Smoking Joint on Bali Beach | 2 comments (2 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment

    One of my arrests.. (none / 0) (#1)
    by kdog on Fri Jan 30, 2015 at 11:52:55 AM EST
    was for two roaches, I'd guesstimate less than .2 grams of actual sacrament, if that.  Spotted by an unmarked, who called in a uniform for the "big bust". Chained to a bench for hours, and after refusing to hunt for bail money over the phone despite the officer's insistence, I was released R.O.R.

    After 5 hundo or so for a lawyer and a missed day of work, I got a deferred prosecution with the charges later dropped.

    I thought that was a Kafka-esque (comical in hindsight) affair...but we got nuthin' on Bali.

    They paved paradise (none / 0) (#2)
    by Mr Natural on Sat Jan 31, 2015 at 11:33:48 AM EST
    and put up a SuperMax...

    Parent
    Australian Faces 12 Years For Smoking Joint on Bali Beach | 2 comments (2 topical)

    Readers Must Login or Create an Account to Comment