Australian Robert McJannett |
April 28, 2010
Indonesian prosecutors want an Australian man to be jailed for seven months for taking marijuana into the resort island of Bali.
They said he deserved a lighter sentence because he was "polite" during his trial.
Perth man Robert Paul McJannett, 48, was arrested at Denpasar airport on December 28 last year with 1.7 grams of marijuana in his luggage.
He had been facing trial in the Denpasar District Court charged with importing a "group one" narcotic, which carries a maximum of 15 years' jail.
McJannett was also charged with possession, which carries a minimum of four years' jail and a maximum of 12, and the lesser offences of drug use and failing to report a drug addiction.
But on Wednesday, prosecutors dropped the more serious charges, leaving him to face sentence on drug use charge.
In Denpasar District Court, Prosecutor I Nyoman Sucitrawan said McJannett had been "proven officially and convincingly guilty for committed narcotics crime" and requested he be sentenced to seven months' jail.
He cited several leniency factors in his sentence request: "The defendant being polite during the trials, the defendant admitted frankly and regretted his action, the defendant promised not to repeat his action, the defendant suffers depression which his escape was using narcotics."
McJannett is due to next appear in court on May 5 for his defence.
McJannett admitted bringing the drug into Bali - despite earlier claiming he was a victim of a set-up - but said he didn't realise marijuana was illegal in Indonesia.
"I deeply apologise," he told the court at an earlier appearance.
McJannett, a crane operator and prominent trade unionist, said he uses marijuana to help with pain and insomnia.
Prosecutors had described McJannett as an "addict" who had used marijuana for more than 30 years.
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