Drug-smuggling prison guard Michael Charles Asker tells SA court he was motivated by his humanitarian instinct
Today a court heard why this public servant smuggled drugs and contraband for prisoners – and exactly how he got his bribe.
Police & Courts
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A prison guard who smuggled drugs and glue to an inmate is a “bleeding heart humanitarian” motivated by hatred of “blind bureaucracy” – and $750 in cash – a court has heard.
On Wednesday, counsel for Michael Charles Asker told the District Court their client was “riddled with shame” over his descent into corrupt behaviour.
Michael Jandy, for Asker, said his client’s “humanitarian instincts” had drawn him to prison work after a stint in the army rescuing cyclone victims and assisting veteran’s families.
He said that passion had led to the condemnation of co-workers – and several disciplinary proceedings – prior to his offending.
“He was proactive, driven, it might be put he was overly invested … (that) saw him pilloried as a ‘bleeding heart social worker’,” he said.
“He was disturbed by the treatment of prisoners and felt blind bureaucracy was being put before their welfare … the seeds of his discontent were fertilised.
“He felt unappreciated, demoralised, and he weakened … this was a slow-burn crisis of faith, and he allowed himself to be prevailed upon by prisoners.”
Asker, 66, of Modbury Heights, pleaded guilty to one count of bribery.
On September 5, 2018, he took a fast-food bag containing suboxone – an opioid-withdrawal treatment – and glue from a man, and took it into Yatala Labour Prison.
Having delivered it to an inmate, Asker received $250 four days later and, in December 2018, received a further $500 in an empty coffee cup.
He was subsequently intercepted attempting to bring another package – this time containing methylamphetamine – into the prison.
On Wednesday, Mr Jandy said Asker believed the glue would be used to reseal food packages after contraband had been hidden inside them.
He insisted money was not Asker’s main motivation but conceded that, had the offending continued, “it would have become so over time”.
Mr Jandy said Asker’s life was without blemish save for the disciplinary allegations filed against him.
“It was alleged a female prisoner proposed to him that she go into business running a brothel and he invest in it … his vice was failing to report the approach,” he said.
“There was another allegation he received a love letter addressed to ‘Mr Amazing Eyes’ and signed ‘Your Girl’ … that triggered his transfer from the Women’s Prison to Yatala.
“He accepts there was some malice toward his employers, and some misplaced loyalty toward prisoners, in his offending.”
He asked Asker be spared a prison term because, as a former guard, any time spent in custody would “unsurprisingly” see him exposed to “some hostility”.
Judge Liesl Chapman remanded him on continuing bail for sentencing in May.