Indonesia Imposes Harsh Penalties on Foreigners Caught With Illegal Drugs
The drug scene in Indonesia is something of a contradiction. Indonesian drug legislations are among the strictest in Southeast Asia, yet using illegal drugs is reasonably high in some components of the nation.
Indonesia’s war on drugs is somewhat compromised by the country’s size and island geography. The Indonesian anti-narcotics agency BNN does not have enough resources to monitor the country’s unlimited miles of coastline, whereby cannabis, euphoria, meth, and also heroin manage to slide through with regularity.
This should not be taken as a green light to indulge, though. The Indonesian government are ready to make an example of foreigners who use illegal drugs in their jurisdiction. Bali’s Kerobokan Prison houses plenty of foreigners who thought they could game the system and lost the bet.
Penalties for Drug Use in Indonesia
Under Indonesian Regulation No. 35/2009, the country’s abused substances listing is split right into 3 various groups. Chapter XV of the 2009 legislation lays down the charges for every team, while the Appendix notes all the medications that come under each group. Possession and also trafficking of all the drug listed in the Appendix are prohibited, unless taken on by people or companies accepted by the federal government.
A PDF file of the law (in Bahasa Indonesia) can be downloaded here: Indonesian Law No. 35/2009 (offsite). You can also refer to this document: English Version of the Indonesian Narcotics Law – International Drug Policy Consortium.
Group 1 drugs are checked out by the Indonesian government as therapeutically pointless with a high potential for causing addiction. Group 1 medicines warrant the weightiest sentences – life jail time for belongings, and also the death sentence for founded guilty drug traffickers.
- Possession is punishable by 4 to 12 years’ imprisonment, and fines of IDR 800 million to 8 billion (US$89,600 to US$896,000). If the drugs exceed 1 kilogram (for raw drugs like marijuana) or 5 grams (for processed drugs like heroin and cocaine), a maximum punishment of life imprisonment may be imposed.
- Trafficking is punishable by 5 to 15 years’ imprisonment and fines of IDR one billion to ten billion (US$112,000 to US$1.2 million). If the volume of drugs exceeds 1 kilogram (for raw drugs) or 5 grams (for processed drugs), the death penalty may be imposed.
- Drugs in Group 1, a partial list: heroin, cocaine, marijuana, hashish, mescaline, MDMA (ecstasy), psilocybin, mescaline, LSD, amphetamine, methamphetamine, opium and its derivatives
Group 2 drugs are seen by the law as helpful for therapeutic purposes, yet harmful as a result of their high addicting possibility.
- Possession is punishable by 3 to 10 years’ imprisonment, and a fine of IDR 600 million to 5 billion (US$67,200 to US$560,000). If the volume of drugs exceeds 5 grams, 5 to 15 years’ imprisonment may result.
- Trafficking is punishable by 4 to 12 years’ imprisonment and fines of IDR 800 million to eight billion (US$89,600 to US$896,000). If the volume of drugs exceeds 5 grams, the death penalty may be imposed.
- Drugs in Group 2, a partial list: morphine, methadone, oxycodone, pethidine and hydromorphone
Group 3 drugs are seen as therapeutically useful and moderately addictive, but not to the same degree as the drugs in Group 1 or 2.
- Possession is punishable by 2 to 7 years’ imprisonment, and a fine of IDR 400 million to 3 billion (US$44,800 to US$336,000). If the volume of drugs exceeds 5 grams, 3 to 10 years’ imprisonment may result.
- Trafficking is punishable by 3 to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines of IDR 600 million to five billion (US$67,200 to US$560,000). If the volume of drugs exceeds 5 grams, imprisonment of 5 to 15 years may be imposed.
- Drugs in Group 3, a partial list: codeine, dihydrocodeine and buprenorphine
The charges provided here are not absolute– Indonesian judges may take mitigating scenarios right into account and also enforce a lighter sentence as a result.
Rehabilitation and Appeal
The regulation allows charged drug addict to be punished to rehab rather than prison time. Short article 128 of Indonesian Regulation No. 35/2009 permits minor customers (those under 17 years old) to be sentenced to recovery rather. A 2010 ruling (offsite) released by the Indonesian High court sets the guidelines through which recovery might be picked as opposed to prison, including a maximum amount of medicines in each team that need to have actually been found on the individual at the time of the apprehension.
Ought to a death penalty be enforced, prisoners are permitted to attract the area High Court, then the Supreme Court. Stopping working that, a fatality row detainee may interest the President of Indonesia for clemency.
Allure is a double-edged sword– greater courts are allowed to boost sentences, as they finished with four members of the Bali Nine whose sentences were updated by the Bali High Court from life in prison to death. (These sentences were knocked back to life jail time by the Indonesian High Court.).
Drug Dealers in Kuta, Bali
Though the anti-drug laws in Bali are pretty strict, drug dealers still operate with some impunity, specifically around the Kuta location. Visitors have actually reported getting whispered solicitations for mushrooms and marijuana from locals in the vicinity. It was one such solicitation that obtained this Australian young adult in difficulty. He had actually been offered about $25 in drugs by a street dealer – he approved, as well as the narcotics authorities caught him later.
Sure, you might obtain a sneaky offer of drugs from some back-street dope dealer in Kuta, yet claimed dope dealer is just as most likely to be dealing with a narcotics police in a medicine sting. Be advised. Should you ever locate yourself on the receiving end of one of these whispered sales pitches, walk away.
What to Do If You Are Arrested in Indonesia
While taking a trip in Indonesia, you go through Indonesian regulations. For American residents, the American Embassy in Indonesia is duty-bound to prolong its aid in the event of their arrest, but it can not secure their release.
The American Embassy in Indonesia (jakarta.usembassy.gov) should be contacted in the event of an arrest: they can be reached at +62 21 3435 9050 up to 9055 on workdays. After hours and on holidays, call +62 21 3435 9000 and ask for the duty officer.
The American Consulate in Bali can also be reached if the arrest takes place there: call +62 361 233 605 during regular office hours. After hours and on holidays, call +081 133 4183 and ask for the duty officer.
An Embassy officer will brief you about Indonesia’s legal system and provide you with a list of attorneys. The officer can also notify your family or friends of the arrest, and facilitate the transfer of food, money, and clothing from family or friends back home.
Notable Drug Arrests in Indonesia
Frank Amado, arrested in 2009, sentenced to death in 2010, awaiting appeal. Amado, a U.S. citizen, was found with 11 pounds of methamphetamine. (Antaranews.com)
Schapelle Corby, arrested in 2005, due for release in 2024. 9 pounds of cannabis were found in her boogie board bag at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport. (Wikipedia)
The Bali Nine, arrested in 2005, punished to life jail time and also death. Australian citizens Andrew Chan, Si Yi Chen, Michael Czugaj, Renae Lawrence, Tach Duc Thanh Nguyen, Matthew Norman, Scott Rush, Martin Stephens and Myuran Sukumaran were involved in a scheme to smuggle 18 pounds of heroin to Australia. Chan and Sukumaran were the group’s ringleaders, and were meted the death penalty. The rest were sentenced to life in prison. (Wikipedia)
Unidentified Australian boy – a 14-year-old was caught with a quarter of an ounce of marijuana on October 4, 2011. Cops captured him together with a 13-year-old close friend after they arised from a massage therapy salon near Kuta Beach. The optimal sentence in his situation would certainly have been six years, but the court chose to sentence him to 2 months, including time currently offered. He flew home to Australia on December 4.
