Aussie teacher accused of laptop theft moved to Kerobokan prison

A Sydney woman accused of theft has been moved to a notorious prison that used to house some of the Bali Nine.

A Sydney teacher facing jail in Bali after an alleged theft has been transferred to the country’s infamous Kerobokan prison.

Vanessa Louise Crimmins, 45, was arrested in late October accused of stealing two laptops from the Popular Deli, a supermarket in Bali’s North Kuta district.

The Australian teacher had “taken two laptops from two bags that had been left by the owners in the sitting area,” Badung Police spokesman Putu Sukarma alleged in October.

Ardi Nurcahyadi, 42, from Jakarta and Denpasar university student Ni Nyoman Ari Purwaningsih, 24 returned after a 90 minute absence to find their HP laptop and MacBook Air missing.

Ms Crimmins is originally from Sydney’s eastern suburbs. It was unclear whether she lives or was on holiday in Bali at the time of the alleged crime. Picture: Supplied

The two laptops that Ms Crimmins allegedly stole belonged to locals. Picture: Supplie

Authorities investigated the incident after a report was filed at the local police station, before arresting Ms Crimmins at the scene.

CCTV footage shows Ms Crimmins picking up an unattended bag and walking off, before returning to collect the second bag.

Under the Indonesian Criminal Code, she faces a penalty of up to five years in jail.

Ms Crimmins was in police detention for just over a month before the recent transfer to Kerobokan.

The prison has formerly housed other Australian criminals including members of the Bali Nine and Schapelle Corby.

Ms Crimmins will remain in the notorious penitentiary until her pre-trial hearings.

“Police have handed over the dossier and all evidence regarding the case of Australian woman Vanessa Louise Crimmins,” head of the prosecution’s intelligence division Mr Gde Ancana said.

“As police have completed the dossier, prosecutors have to move her from police detention into the prison.”

Mr Ancana added that the indictment will follow, after which the case will be handed to the Denpasar District Court.

“Hopefully the trial can be started as early as January,” he said.

Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were locked up in Kerobokan before their executions in 2015. Fellow members Si Yi Chen and Matthew Norman were incarcerated in the same prison before their return to Australia last week.