Bali lawyers want tough sentence for Melbourne drug accused Ricky Shane Rawson
A Melbourne man facing a second stretch in Bali’s infamous Kerobokan jail on drug charges has begged the judge to allow him to continue rehabilitation on the island of the gods.
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A Melbourne man facing a second stretch in Bali’s infamous Kerobokan jail on drug charges has begged the judge to allow him to continue rehabilitation on the island of the gods.
Ricky Shane Rawson from Melbourne’s South Kingsville admits to possessing 0.09 grams of methamphetamine as well as a glass pipe. Under Indonesia’s strict anti-drugs law, such a crime carried maximum sentence of 12 years jail.
“Your Honour, I apologize. I beg you, that I can continue rehabilitation,” Rawson, 56, addressed Chief of Judges Angeliki Handayani in the Denpasar District Court.
He promised to ‘not repeat’ his behaviour of using drugs in Indonesia.
In 2011, Rawson served four months in Kerobokan jail for possession of 0.06 grams of the same drug, which is known as Shabu Shabu in Indonesia.
Since his arrest in October 2019, Rawson has been treated for drug abuse in Bali’s narcotics rehabilitation facility in Bhayangkara Hospital. He was subsequently moved to Anargya Sober House in Sanur, where he will remain until sentencing.
The court heard that Rawson is an established drug abuser, which attracts more lenient sentencing in Indonesia – a country famous for delivering crushingly harsh punishments to narcotics dealers and drugs ‘mules’.
“Based on the results of the assessment, the defendant is a narcotics user. The defendant has admitted his guilt and promised not to repeat his actions. We ask the judge to give a light decision,” Rawson’s lawyer Ali Sadikin said.
The prosecutor has already called for Rawson to be jailed for 18 months, reduced for time served since his October 2019 arrest.
Police raided Rawson’s Legian hotel room in October last year acting on a public tip off.
Rawson allegedly paid IDR700,000 ($67) to a man named ‘Reza’ for a package of meth. The mystery dealer then packed a glass pipe – or bong, with the methamphetamine, and the two men settled down to take turns smoking the drugs. LaterRawson returned to his Legian hotel room where, at 2am,police officers Gusti Ngurah Ari Mahendra and Nyoman Mangku Putu raided the room and found the glass pipe and a small packet of meth concealed in Rawson’s wallet. The Australian admitted it was his.
During the trial, the court heard that Rawson used methamphetamine in an effort to manage the grief he suffered over his mother’s death and to manage pain from a broken thigh bone.
Rawson has been on an extended holiday in Bali since May 2019 and had started using narcotics for several months before he was busted.
The trial continues in Denpasar District Court on February 26.