A Bali prosecutor has requested a former war correspondent who used hashish to help him cope with post traumatic stress disorder be jailed for a year.

David Matthew Fox, who reported for years on conflicts for the international news agency Reuters, was arrested in October last year after he admitted to possessing hashish during a police sting at On-On bar in Sanur.

David Fox in the Denpasar District Court on Thursday Credit:Amilia Rosa

Mr Fox's lawyer, Haposan Sihombing, said Mr Fox had witnessed children being beheaded and a pregnant woman's stomach being dissected. "It caused him sleeping problems," Mr Sihombing said.

"The defendant consumed hashish for personal use, because of PTSD suffered while working for years as a journalist in conflict zones," he said.