Bali Court Sentences New Zealander to 15 Years’ Jail for Drug Trafficking

Jakarta Globe, Jun 30, 2015

New Zealand national Antony de Malmanche waits inside a holding cell at
the Denpasar court on Bali island on Tuesday. (AFP Photo/Sonny Tumbelaka)

Jakarta. A New Zealand man has escaped the death penalty after being found guilty of smuggling crystal methamphetamine into Bali in December last year.

Antony de Malmanche, 52, was sentenced on Tuesday to 15 years’ jail fined Rp 4 billion ($300,000), or an additional three months in prison.

Denpasar District Court found him guilty of smuggling 1.7 kilograms of crystal meth inside his backpack from Hong Kong to Bali, where he expected to meet a woman named “Jessie” whom he had been chatting with online.

Prosecutors had demanded 18 years’ jail, and the verdict was light given the court could have imposed a maximum sentence of death.

De Malmanche’s legal team argued that he was a victim of human trafficking and was duped into carrying the drugs by a transnational crime syndicate.

The New Zealander’s lawyer, Chris Harno, said he would consider an appeal, Australian Associated Press reported.

De Malmanche is currently in Kerobokan jail, where Australian drug traffickers Myura Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were imprisoned before they were executed in April.