Teen claims Bali dealer ‘pushed’ him to buy drugs



THE 14-year-old NSW boy arrested in Bali last week for marijuana possession allegedly told police that he was “coerced” into buying the drugs.


As the boy yesterday endured his sixth day in police custody, it emerged that the teenager claimed he purchased the 3.6g of marijuana after the alleged drug dealer “pushed” him.

Australia’s ambassador to Jakarta, Greg Moriarty, who made a mercy dash to Bali on Saturday, met again yesterday at police headquarters with the boy’s lawyer Mohammad Rifan, his psychiatrist and the boy’s parents.

Asked if the boy had admitted to buying the drugs during a second investigation in the presence of his parents, Mr Rifan said his client had been coerced.

“They (the accused and his friend) just go to massage and relaxation and some dealer approach him. Before he refused but the dealer push him to buy,” Mr Rifan said.

“He had no planning to buy drugs but the dealer push him and approach him and he felt he must buy the drugs.”

The boy claimed in the initial investigation — when the regulation stipulating he be treated as a juvenile was omitted because of parental absence — that he bought the cannabis from a dealer in Kuta on Tuesday, who told him he had not eaten for a day and needed money.

Authorities have 20 days before they must lay charges. But they can apply for an additional 10 days in which to complete their investigation.

It is still unclear how long the boy will remain in police custody, if he will be charged and, if so, under what section of the narcotics law.

The boy’s parents are rotating overnight stays to comfort their son while he remains in police custody in Denpasar. He is not being held in a cell with other detainees.

Yesterday, boxes of fast food were delivered by friends to his cell via a side entrance of the police station, to avoid hordes of media.

” He is not suffering in terms of his diet,” said an inside source.

Upon leaving the meeting yesterday, Mr Moriarty said the family was holding up as well as could be expected, and were under an “incredible amount of stress”.

“We’ll be continuing our work here and in Jakarta as best we can to ensure the boy’s release and return to Australia as quickly as possible,” Mr Moriarty said. “I have no particular concerns about his health or welfare. He is doing his best to cope with very difficult circumstances. He’s a robust young man and he’s under incredible stress.”

The source said it was unclear if there would be a rapid outcome or if it would drag on for more than a month. “But we are talking weeks rather than days.”

If the prosecutor agreed to section 128.2 of the Indonesian narcotics law — which classifies the boy as a drug dependent — rather than section 111.1 for drug possession, it would expedite the process. Under Indonesian law lighter sentences are handed down to drug addicts. His lawyer said an option would be for the boy to be released into his parents’ custody on the condition he attend a drug rehabilitation program.

The teenager had been due to fly home to Australia yesterday after a week-long holiday. But he now faces the possibility of spending up to six years in prison in Indonesia if convicted of possession.

Asked if the boy was aware of how serious the situation was, a well-placed source said: “Certainly his dad has had conversations with him. It’s traumatic. He (the boy) has his ups and downs.”

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