Australian avoids death penalty for smuggling drugs into Bali

Singapore: An Australian man who was facing a possible death sentence in Indonesia for bringing heroin into Bali will instead spend eight months in a rehabilitation facility after a judge on the island accepted that he was an addict and not a drug trafficker.

Jeffrey Welton, a 52-year-old surfing and diving instructor from Western Australia, was arrested in Bali in September after being discovered smuggling eight grams of heroin and 0.34 grams of methamphetamine on a flight from Vietnam.

Jeffrey Welton has been in custody in Bali since September.Credit:Amilia Rosa

The amount of drugs he was found transporting into the country was enough for him to be handed a penalty of anywhere between five years in prison and a death sentence under Indonesia’s narcotics laws.

There was relief for Welton in a court on Tuesday, however, when he was instead ordered to spend eight months at Bali’s Anargya Sober House.

Welton’s family had hired consultant John McLeod, a former police officer who specialises in assisting Australians in trouble overseas, and he agreed it was a very welcome outcome in the circumstances.

“He was facing the death penalty,” McLeod said. “He’s feeling relieved. He understands that he’s got a long way to go in his rehab and he’ll always be an addict. The rehab we’ve sought for him has been extremely successful. He’s been tested regularly and he’s clear of [illegal] substances for the first time in 15 years.”

There were concerns that Welton could be dealt with far more seriously as police investigated following his capture at Ngurah Rai International Airport.

Denpasar head prosecutor Rudy Hartono had said in September that the quantity of heroin “indicates [it was] more than just for personal use”.

The Australian’s defence team including Bali lawyer Edward Pangkahila was, however, able to successfully persuade prosecutors that he was not a dealer and had no plans to sell the drugs.

Welton had been living in Bali on and off for more than a decade and had been travelling regularly to Vietnam from the island, where heroin is not easy to find.

“We presented enough evidence to the prosecutors where they basically they agreed with us that he was an addict,” McLeod said. “Yes, he did something very wrong but he was basically just bringing his medicine in with him.

“We did our own research to make sure he was an addict. As with the police, we came up with no evidence at all that he was a drug dealer. Everyone basically that knew him said he was a loner.”

– with Karuni Rompies

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