Australian man sentenced to 5 years in Bali prison for drugs

DENPASAR, Indonesia – A court in Bali has sentenced an Australian man and his Indonesian girlfriend to five years and four months in prison each for possessing cocaine.

Presiding Judge Ketut Kimiarsa told the court Wednesday that the panel of judges had exercised leniency in their sentencing, based on both defendants having no prior criminal records and expressing regret for their crime.

Brandon Johnson and his girlfriend, Remi Purwanti, were arrested with 11.6 grams of cocaine separated into 13 plastic bags.

Kimiarsa said the crime was serious because it went against the Indonesian government’s program to combat the spread of narcotics and was damaging to the image of Indonesia’s main tourist destination.

Johnson and Purwanti, who were each fined 800 million rupiah ($57,000) or an additional two months in prison, are not appealing. / gsg