0 Woman faces 15 years for drug smuggling

Public prosecutor Lie Putra Setyawan asked the Denpasar public court’s panel of judges to sentence Lindsay June Sandiford to 15 years in prison during a trial session on Thursday. Sandiford was arrested on May 19 by Ngurah Rai International Airport’s customs officials for allegedly trying to smuggle 4.7 kilograms of cocaine into the resort island. It was by far the longest prison sentence sought by the public prosecutor’s office in the case that had also implicated three other British nationals and an Indian citizen. 

Britons Paul Beales and Rachel Lisa Dougall, both accused by Sandiford, who portrayed herself as nothing but a courier, as the actual primary players in the smuggling attempt, faced the threat of much lighter sentences. Beales was sentenced to four years imprisonment on Wednesday for possession of a small quantity of hashish. Previously, Indian national Nanda Gopal was sentenced to five years imprisonment for possession of ecstasy. In both cases, the prosecutors failed to tie the defendants to Sandiford’s smuggling attempt. 

In another ironic twist, Rachel Lisa Dougall, 39, the woman dubbed the Bali Drug Queen by the British media for her lavish lifestyle and alleged commanding role in the smuggling attempt, was sentenced to one year imprisonment on the very same day Sandiford sat before the bench and learned that she would likely spend the next decade behind bars. During her trial, Sandiford disclosed that she met Dougall and Beales in Bangkok before she took the flight to Denpasar. 

She said that Beales placed the drugs in the lining of her suitcase and that Dougall was the owner of the drugs. Both denied the accusations. Prosecutor Lie Putra Setyawan also asked the panel of judges to fine the defendant Rp 2 billion (US$207,000) and that if the defendant could not pay the fine then for her to serve an additional six months imprisonment. Sandiford’s lawyer, Ezra Karo Karo, stated that he would present his legal response to the sentence demand on Jan. 3.

“If the defense lawyer fails to present the response on the stated date then the court will proceed directly with the reading of the verdict,” presiding judge Amser Simanjuntak warned. Separately, Dougall expressed her joy over the light sentence issued by the court. Her lawyer, Ari B Sunardi, addressed the panel of judges, stating that Dougall accepted the sentence and apologized for her wrongdoings. Dougall was sentenced for “failing to notify the authorities about the presence of illegal drugs in her residence”. 

The illegal drugs were 48.94 grams of cocaine found in a room in Dougall’s luxurious villa in Tabanan during a police search. Initially, the prosecutor in the case indicted Dougall with possession but later backtracked after Dougall’s husband, Julian Anthony Ponder, the third British national implicated in the case, confessed to the court that the drug was his. “I’m happy. I’m just happy to be reunited with my baby. I have to finish my sentence first, then I’m going to the UK to be with my baby,” Dougall said. 

The light verdict for Dougall underlines the local law enforcement’s embarrassing defeat in the case. Initially, the police investigators, who managed to convince Sandiford to collaborate and carry out a controlled delivery that netted the other four suspects, believed that they had cracked a major drug ring and were convinced that the suspects, Dougall in particular, would face heavy sentences. However, the cases against Dougall, Ponder and Beales started to crumble when the investigators failed to find any physical evidence to connect Sandiford with the three suspects.

source : bali daily