Melbourne man dodges Bali jail time over meth
Melbourne man Ricky Rawson has dodged a second stint in Bali’s notorious Kerobokan Prison after an Indonesian judge sentenced him to one year of rehabilitation for using methamphetamine.
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Melbourne man Ricky Rawson has dodged a second stint in Bali’s notorious Kerobokan Prison when an Indonesian judge sentenced him to one year of rehabilitation for using methamphetamine.
The 56-year-old, from Melbourne’s South Kingsville, admitted to possessing 0.09 grams of methamphetamine as well as a glass pipe. Under Indonesia’s strict anti-drugs law, such a crime carried a maximum sentence of 12 years’ jail.
Rawson served four months in Kerobokan jail for possessing 0.06 grams of meth in 2011.
Chief of Judges Angeliki Handayani delivered Rawson’s wish to spend any custodial time in
Sanur’s Sober House, which is run by the drug rehabilitation group, the Anargya Foundation.
Two weeks ago, Rawson begged the judge to not send him to Kerobokan Prison and to allow
him to continue rehabilitation on the island of the gods.
“The defendant Ricky Shane Rawson is guilty of committing the crime of abusing narcotics
and is ordered to undergo one year at the Anargya (rehabilitation) foundation,” Judge
Angeiliki said while Rawson looked relieved.
The judge also noted that Rawson was not proven to have committed the more serious
crime of possession of narcotics. Indonesia’s harsh anti-drugs laws treats drug users more
leniently as addicts, than it does drug traffickers who face harsh punishments including the
death sentence.
Rawson has been in rehabilitation in Bali since his October arrest. It is the first time in more
than ten years as a drug abuser that he has been in assisted recovery.
The Melbourne man found himself in hot water when police launched an early morning raid
on his Legian hotel room in October last year and found a small packet of methamphetamine in his wallet plus a glass pipe.
Rawson told the court that he bought the meth for IDR700,000 ($67) from a man named Reza. He said the two men immediately packed the glass pipe and took turns in smoking the narcotics after the deal was made. Rawson then returned to his hotel room to sleep when police raided his room at 2am following up a tip off made by a member of the public.
The court heard that Rawson had been using meth to manage the stress caused by his
mother’s death as well as to reduce pain in his leg. He said that he has been using meth in
Bali – where he had been on holiday since May — for four months before his arrest.
Rawson’s lawyer Ali Sadikin accepted the sentencing on his behalf.
Originally published as Melbourne man dodges Bali jail time over meth