Australian boy, 14, holidaying with parents in Bali faces 12 years in brutal jail 'for possession of marijuana'



No child courts and few children's jails in Indonesia

He spent night in tears in his police headquarters cell



A 14-year-old boy is being held in a harsh prison cell on the holiday island of Bali for drug possession - one of the youngest foreigners to be arrested in Indonesia.



The young Australian faces up to 12 years in jail after being arrested for allegedly being in possession of 6.9 grams of marijuana.



The teenager, who was on holiday with his parents and friends, was said last night to be crying in his cell at Denpasar's police headquarters.

Holiday resort: The teenager is believed to have been approached by a drug dealer near to Kuta Beach in Bali

Sydney's Daily Telegraph said it had been told by a source on the island that the boy bought the marijuana because he felt sorry for a man who gave him a hard luck story.

The source said the boy was on his way to get a massage near the famous Kuta Beach holiday strip when he was approached by a dealer who asked him to buy the drug because he needed the money to buy food.

The boy, who comes from the city of Newcastle, 100 miles north of Sydney, is believed to have paid the equivalent of £15 for the marijuana.



He went on his way to have the massage and he was arrested shortly afterwards.



It is not known whether the dealer had 'shopped' the teenager to the police as part of a sting.

Jailed: Schapelle Leigh Corby in Denpasar before her trial. She is serving a 20 year sentence for drug smuggling in Indonesia

Under Indonesia's harsh narcotics laws, drug possession carries a maximum of 12 years behind bars.

The country's prisons are notorious for their bleak conditions.



Scores of foreigners have been arrested in Bali for drug possession but the teenager is believed to be one of the youngest - if not the youngest ever.



Because there are no children's courts and very few children's jails in Indonesia, juveniles are dealt with in adult courts and if convicted end up in adult jails.



His only 'respite' is the fact that under law, any case against a child offender must be presented to Prosecutors within a month of arrest, as opposed to 90 days in adult cases.



The two highest profile cases in recent years have involved Australians.



One involves the so-called 'Bali Nine' who are serving long jail sentences - and two are fighting the death sentence - for heroin smuggling.

