Republished April 13, 2017 - 6:17 AM
Original Publication Date April 13, 2017 - 4:55 AM
BALI, Indonesia - An Indonesian court sentenced a New Zealand woman on Thursday to 2 1/2 years in jail for possessing methamphetamine.
Myra Lynne Williams, 28, was arrested last August when customs and narcotics agency officers confiscated 0.43 grams of crystal methamphetamine upon her arrival at Bali's airport from Melbourne.
A three-member panel of judges at the Denpasar District Court found Williams guilty of possessing and using a category one drug.
According the indictment, it was Williams's erratic behaviour by refusing to queue up and even babbling while waiting for her passport to be stamped that drew attention from immigration officials, who contacted narcotics and customs officers. When the custom officers asked her to stand up from her seat, they found a plastic bag containing the methamphetamine.
Williams' lawyer Poppy Eunike said they accepted the verdict. State prosecutors had been seeking a three-year sentence.
Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers are often executed by firing squad. More than 150 people are on death row, mostly for drug crimes and about a third of them are foreigners.
Eighteen people convicted of drug-related offences have been executed under the current administration of President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017