Australian man apprehended after allegedly smoking joint in Bali
Date January 27, 2015 - 8:37PM
Jewel Topsfield and Amilia Rosa
An Australian man has been apprehended by Indonesian police for allegedly smoking a joint on a Balinese beach.
The man, a painter, with the initials NL, was allegedly caught by security from The Green Room, a villa in Canggu, smoking the marijuana by the Batu Bolong beach at 3am on Tuesday.
Security alerted the police who apprehended the Australian and a 25-year-old Indonesian man, who was a driver at the villa.
North Kuta police chief Ronny Riantoko said the evidence found was a used marijuana joint, which had allegedly been smoked by both men, and a small packet of marijuana, nearby.
He said police believed the Indonesian man had thrown the packet away after they were caught.
"Police are still cross-checking the identities of the two and blood and urine tests were sent today to the forensic lab," the police chief said.
In 2011, a 14-year-old boy from Morisset Park in NSW was jailed for two months after he bought 3.6 grams of cannabis in Kuta.
The saga caused a furore with then Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd calling for "calm heads and cool hearts".
Judge Amser Simanjuntak said the boy was young, had never been charged before and had shown remorse.
But he said he had to consider the negative impact the boy's arrest had on relations between Australia and Indonesia.
"Our aim in criminalising this (case) is not for revenge, but it should serve as a deterrent for others not to follow his actions," News Limited reported Judge Amser saying at the time.
"But his action gave a negative image to Bali as a tourist destination."
The latest alleged drug offence comes as two Australians, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, face the firing squad over their role in the foiled attempt to import more than eight kilograms of heroin from Indonesia to Australia in 2005.
