BALI NINE ringleader Andrew Chan has lost his final legal appeal against the death penalty in a bitter blow to his chances of escaping death row.

His only chance now at life is a plea for clemency from Indonesia’s President – a man who is not known for pardoning drug traffickers.

The Supreme Court decision came as a shock to Chan’s legal team who had not been informed of the verdict until News Ltd contacted them late yesterday with the news.

Jakarta lawyer Todung Mulya Lubis said he had heard nothing and Chan’s Melbourne-based lawyer Julian McMahon had to inform the family.

The clerk of the Judges panel confirmed to News Ltd that the decision had been made and that there was no dissenting opinion.

“I can only say that it is true, it has already been decided but the full verdict is not completed yet,” Supreme Court clerk Oloan Harianja said.

He said the case had been discussed by the Judges on May 10. This is the same day a different panel of Judges also decided that fellow Bali Nine member, airport mule Scott Rush, should be spared death row.

It is not know if the case of fellow ringleader, Myuran Sukumaran,has been decided as a different panel of three Judges was considering his case. But the Chan decision does not bode well for his chances of also escaping death row.

The pair ran joint appeals last year, using the same argument that they are now rehabilitated and professing their guilt and apologising – something they had previously not done.

The Denpasar District Court,in his report to their superiors in the Supreme Court in Jakarta, had recommended the pair be spared the death sentence.

The Kerobokan Jail’s Governor Siswanto testified at their appeal, telling that they were now model prisoners and asking why they couldn’t be forgiven. He has become close to both Chan and Sukumaran.

Yesterday he, like everyone involved with Chan, was shattered by the news the Chan had lost his appeal.

The reasons why Chan, 26, lost the appeal are not yet known and the full written judgement has yet to be completed. However, it was always going to be a hard ask for both he and Sukumaran to get a reprieve from death row, given the amount of drugs involved.

The so-called Bali Nine was arrested in April 2005 attempting to smuggle 8.2kg of heroin from Bali to Sydney. The court heard at the time that Chan and Sukumaran were the ringleaders of the group.

Chan’s decision comes only weeks after another Bali Nine member, Scott Rush, won his appeal in the same court. Rush, one of four couriers arrested at Bali airport with the drugs strapped to them, was also on death row. On May 10, the court announced he had won the appeal and had his sentence reduced to a life sentence.

A different panel of three Judges in the same court also considered Chan’s appeal on the same day but only announced their decision late yesterday.

At his appeal late last year Chan, speaking in Indonesian, expressed his remorse and regret at his own stupidity and apologised.

“Your Honours, when I was first arrested in 2005 I stupidly thought I knew everything and in my previous trials, on the advice of my old lawyers, I pleaded my innocence. I stupidly thought I could walk out of here despite the crime I committed. However, I now know much better and it feels good to be able to speak the truth, to apologise and to ask for the forgiveness of Your Honours.

“I also want to apologise for my behaviour in 2005 when I was in front of this Honourable court. At that time I did not have the proper respect for the court. However I have learned a lot about myself and about Indonesian society during the last five years since then and I feel very embarrassed about my behaviour,” Chan said.

“I know that I did some stupid things when I was younger and I know that I can’t change my past but I have genuinely changed my behaviour and I really want to focus on what I can do now and in the future. I understand much better now the devastating effect that drugs can have on people and their families and God has shown me that a person who has done bad things in the past can make amends once they can accept responsibility for their actions.”

Since being in jail Chan has found God and is studying ministry and theology by correspondence and is one of the leaders of the prison church, where he helps to run regular English services. He told of now trying to support and help prisoners and of helping to run computer and other courses.

“I am doing these things to help others and because I believe I have a purpose in life, not just to be held in prison and then executed. Once again, I want to say how deeply sorry I am for what I did in the past. I accept that I deserve to be punished for my crime but I beg the court that I not be executed.”

Chan said one day, after serving his sentence, he wanted to have his own family and become a Minister or Counsellor “so that I can work with young people to prevent them from making the same mistakes as me”.