Bali Nine drug smuggler infected with coronavirus
A member of the Bali Nine drug smuggling ring has contracted coronavirus behind the walls of Indonesia’s toughest jail.
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A member of the infamous Bali Nine drug smuggling ring has contracted coronavirus inside the notorious Kerobokan prison on the Indonesian island.
Si Yi Chen, now 35, is one of three Australian prisoners who have been infected with the virus and have been moved into an isolation wing, Nine News reported.
Brendon Johnsson, convicted of cocaine possession, and paedophile Robert Andrew Fiddes Ellis are the other Australians who have been isolated.
Chen is serving a life sentence for his part in attempting to smuggle 8.3kg of heroin out of Indonesia, into Australia in 2005.
Ringleaders of the group Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were sentenced to death and executed on April 29, 2015, while six other members including Chen were given life sentences.
The ninth member of the group, Renae Lawrence, was given a 20-year sentence, which was commuted in 2018, leading to her early release.
The prison has reported 100 cases of coronavirus within its walls, but inconsistent screening suggests their could be many more.
Security provider John McLeod, who helps Aussies locked up overseas, said results were taking weeks to come back, meaning they could be placed into an isolation wing with people who were actively sick, while they had recovered since their testing.
Earlier this month, News Corp reported illness had swept through the prison, with the jail clinic flooded with inmates complaining of a fever and difficulty breathing.
Originally published as Bali Nine drug smuggler infected with coronavirus