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Aussie woman to leave Indonesia jail
July 27, 2006

An Australian woman convicted of using marijuana was sentenced to six months jail by an Indonesian court, but should be free within weeks.

Barbara Kathleen Higgs has been held in custody on the island of Lombok since February 19.

Court officials said her sentence had been backdated and she would be due for release next month in time for her 44th birthday.

She was found guilty of using the drug, but was acquitted of more serious possession and trafficking charges.

Higgs, originally from Pinjarra, Western Australia, was not in the Lombok court.

She has been treated in an army hospital for much of this month suffering typhoid, kidney problems and a skin condition - contracted her lawyers said in prison where water quality is poor.

Higgs was arrested after police, acting on a tipoff, searched the Bulan Baru (New Moon) hotel she owns with her New Zealand husband at the beach resort of Senggigi. They allegedly found 48 grams of marijuana.

Police said Higgs had admitted buying the drugs from a local dealer two days before the raid.

Prosecutors had sought one year's imprisonment under tough Indonesian drug laws.

Judge Railam Silalahi, one of the three justices hearing the case, said Higgs had received a lenient sentence because "she frankly admitted what she had done and therefore makes the trial easier."

"She was polite and was sorry for what she had done, and she helped many people around her, " the judge said.

During the case her lawyers stressed her community work as an editor for a tourism magazine that has helped promote Lombok island as a tourist destination.

After the verdict was announced one of her defence lawyers said they would apply to the court to have the final few weeks of her sentence commuted to a "city detention" under which she would not be allowed to leave Lombok until her term was up.

They said this would help her recover her health.

No death penalty for WA expatriate

Barbara Kathleen Higgs hides her face with a piece of paper
as she appears for her trial at a court on Lombok in May.
Photo: AFP

28th July 2006

A former Pinjarra woman has escaped the death penalty and will walk free from an Indonesian prison next month after being found not guilty of drug trafficking and possession.

Barbara Kathleen Higgs, who runs a hotel on the holiday playground of Lombok, was convicted of the lesser charge of using marijuana, which is considered equivalent to heroin under Indonesiaís tough anti-drug laws.

She was sentenced to six months jail in the islandís military prison, where she has been since her arrest on February 19. She is likely to be free within weeks due to her time in jail.

Aussie woman to leave Indonesia jail
July 27, 2006

An Australian woman convicted of using marijuana was sentenced to six months jail by an Indonesian court, but should be free within weeks.

Barbara Kathleen Higgs has been held in custody on the island of Lombok since February 19.

Court officials said her sentence had been backdated and she would be due for release next month in time for her 44th birthday.

She was found guilty of using the drug, but was acquitted of more serious possession and trafficking charges.

Higgs, originally from Pinjarra, Western Australia, was not in the Lombok court.

She has been treated in an army hospital for much of this month suffering typhoid, kidney problems and a skin condition - contracted her lawyers said in prison where water quality is poor.

Higgs was arrested after police, acting on a tipoff, searched the Bulan Baru (New Moon) hotel she owns with her New Zealand husband at the beach resort of Senggigi. They allegedly found 48 grams of marijuana.

Police said Higgs had admitted buying the drugs from a local dealer two days before the raid.

Prosecutors had sought one year's imprisonment under tough Indonesian drug laws.

Judge Railam Silalahi, one of the three justices hearing the case, said Higgs had received a lenient sentence because "she frankly admitted what she had done and therefore makes the trial easier."

"She was polite and was sorry for what she had done, and she helped many people around her," the judge said.

During the case her lawyers stressed her community work as an editor for a tourism magazine that has helped promote Lombok island as a tourist destination.

After the verdict was announced one of her defence lawyers said they would apply to the court to have the final few weeks of her sentence commuted to a "city detention" under which she would not be allowed to leave Lombok until her term was up.

They said this would help her recover her health.

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