Bali drug accused William Cabantog says ‘I’m no Schapelle Corby’
A Melbourne nightclub identity who faces up to 12 years in a Bali jail after dramatic drug raids has spoken for the first time since his arrest saying he is no drug dealer and dismissing as “ridiculous” comparisons to the Bali 9 and Schapelle Corby.
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William Cabantog looked like he was loving the high life, mixing with Melbourne’s rich and glamorous.
As a club promoter and events manager, Cabantog was a key player on the local scene with a reputation as a man who could get things done.
But he was also battling a cocaine addiction which had gripped him for close to half of his life — exacerbated as he self-medicated for serious mental health issues.
Indonesia was meant to be his escape.
“I came to Bali for a better life, to get away from my demons,” a desperate Cabantog has told the Herald Sun in his first interview since being arrested in a July drug bust.
“I failed and got caught up with the wrong people. I’m not a bad guy, I’m not a drug dealer.”
Five months after being arrested in the popular Lost City Nightclub in the resort town of Canggu, he is living in squalid conditions in the notorious Kerobokan prison, eating only two bowls of rice a day.
He is begging for one last chance.
Speaking through his lawyer, he says: “I’m just a guy who messed up, who has a long history of mental health issues, that caused a substance abuse addiction.
“I need rehabilitation, I need professional help for my mental health.”
Sources close to Cabantog, 36, say he is struggling with a raft of longstanding mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and PTSD, which have been amplified during his time in prison.
“It’s been the most difficult part of my life,” he says.
He has also been denied access to antidepressants, but holds on to the hope he may be able to undergo rehabilitation for his drug addiction.
Cabantog spent the first four months after his arrest, cramped in a putrid cell with several other inmates at Polresta police station in Denpasar.
Close friends say he was subjected to 24-hour lockdowns with no direct sunlight and slept on the floor with only a yoga mat and makeshift pillow.
He was moved to Kerobokan — which has a population of about 1600 prisoners despite its official capacity of 300 — earlier this month.
The infamous “Hotel K” is the least desirable accommodation in Bali, housing rapists, murderers and paedophiles.
It is a far cry from the glitzy world he once worked in — exclusive Melbourne hot spots including Eve, Bond, Baroq and Club 23.
Cabantog got his start in hospitality at the age of 15 at his best mate’s family restaurant in the western suburbs, gradually working his way up to the most prestigious bars and clubs in town.
The self-professed introvert said the industry gave him a chance to come out of his shell.
But it was here where he was confronted with the allure of booze and illicit substances.
Social media paints a picture of a man who lived the high-life most would be jealous of, littered with celebrity selfies and the hashtag “too lit to quit”.
In November last year, Cabantog was partying it up in tourist mecca Canggu with The Bachelor star Nick “Honey Badger” Cummins, and was pictured at Bond Bar nightclub last October following the AFL Grand Final with Pies president Eddie McGuire.
But, he says the larger-than-life playboy image many have of him is inaccurate and that he is a good and honest bloke.
Indonesian police hit the trendy Lost City Nightclub in Canggu at 2.30am in a July 9 raid, less than four months after it launched.
The two-storey expat haven promoted itself promising “bangerz, dope beats, and good vibes”.
Cabantog was arrested alongside fellow Melburnian David Van Iersel, 38, whose lawyer has said his client was “in the wrong place at the wrong time”, when arrested.
The pair tested positive to narcotics, with police alleging they found 1.12g of cocaine in Cabantog’s pants pocket, plus a pair of electric scales.
Indonesian courts take a more lenient view of drug offenders who prove they are addicts.
“I do realise it is illegal to take drugs in Indonesia. I’m a young Australian with no criminal history,” Cabantog says.
“I made a mistake. I’m deeply sorry for it.”
He faced the Denpasar District court last Wednesday, where his lawyer argued he had used cocaine since he was 20 years old in Australia.
He insists he is no drug dealer and comparisons to Australian drug smugglers Schapelle Corby and the Bali 9 are ridiculous.
Mr Cabantog said the constant scrutiny was “destroying his family”.
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His parents, now in their 70s, emigrated to Australia from the Philippines wanting a better life for their four children.
They settled in Ascot Vale, his mother securing a job as a nurse and his father a factory worker.
Facing imprisonment until he is 48, Cabantog says he has brought shame to his family and that he has let them down.
“For now, all I would like to do is hug my mum and tell her I’m sorry.”
His trial begins on Wednesday.