A 14-YEAR-OLD boy from New South Wales has been arrested in Bali on drugs charges and is being held in the police jail.

His is the youngest Australian to be arrested in Indonesia under the country’s harsh anti-drugs laws.

Police sources have told dailytelegraph.com.au that the boy was arrested allegedly in possession of a small amount of marijuana.

He is understood to have been on holiday in Bali with his parents and friends and is now being held in the jail cells at Denpasar’s police headquarters, where sources say he is very stressed and in tears.

It is understood that the schoolboy was allegedly in possession of 6.9 grams gross of marijuana or 3.6 grams net.

A source said it was alleged that the boy bought the marijuana when he was on his way to get a massage in Kuta and that he has told police during interrogations that the dealer approached him and asked him to buy the drug, saying that he hadn’t eaten for a day and needed money.

It is understood he said he paid 250,000 Rupiah for the marijuana or about $25.

After he had finished at his massage, it is understood the boy was then arrested by police on Tuesday afternoon.

He has been visited in the jail cells by Australian Consular officials in Bali.

It is not yet confirmed what charges he will face, however it is likely to be drug possession charges which, under Indonesia’s harsh narcotics laws, carries a 12-year maximum.

Whilst scores of Australians have been arrested in Bali in possession of drugs in small and large amounts, the NSW schoolboy is the youngest to have ever faced Indonesian justice.

Under Indonesian law, and unlike Australia there are no children’s court systems and very few children’s jails. Juveniles are dealt with in the mainstream court system, which has dealt with all Australians currently behind bars here and are often housed in adult jails.

There are very few children’s jails and there is no children’s jail in Bali. Young offenders are normally kept in a special children’s cell inside Kerobokan Jail but mix freely with the mainstream prison population.

The main difference between the way a child and adult is dealt with under the law is that his case must be presented to Prosecutors within 30 days of his arrest. For adults the time frame is 90 days.

Most Australians arrested in Bali recently and in possession of small amounts of drugs have initially been charged with the 12-year drug possession laws but later had the charges dropped when they gave evidence of being addicted to drugs.

The laws for drug addicts using drugs for their own personal use are much less severe and carry only a four-year maximum term.

Most people end up being sentenced to months in jail and are then released.

Victorian man Ricky Shane Rawson was recently released after serving a four-month term for possession of 0.06 grams of methamphetamine.

And Angus McCaskill, who was originally sentenced to a massive seven years in jail for possession of 3.58 grams of cocaine, had his term cut on appeal and he was freed after 14 months behind bars.

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Originally published as Boy, 14, held in Bali on drug charges