Made Suwendra says Lawrence contributed to prison life and it was ‘time for her to be freed’

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The governor of Bangli Prison, in a mountainous area of eastern Bali, has praised Australian Bali Nine drug smuggler Renae Lawrence for being co-operative and quiet during the years she spent there in custody.

She had made friends among other prisoners and contributed to prison life.

“It is time for her to be freed,” governor Made Suwendra said of Lawrence, the first member of the group to be discharged.

He was speaking to local and foreign media ahead of her planned release and return to Australia on Wednesday. She has completed a 20-year sentence that was reduced by remissions.

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Lawrence was transferred to Bangli prison in 2014 following earlier incarceration at tougher prison.

She originally was kept in Bali’s main prison, Kerobokan, with other Bali Nine members caught in 2005 trying to smuggle eight kilograms of heroin to Australia.

Police asked immigration officials for permission to transport her across the island tomorrow, the prison governor said, but he was not sure of the timing schedule or whether Lawrence would be taken directly to the airport.

She would be allowed to take personal belongings, including handicrafts she had made, with her.

There was speculation the former Newcastle panel beater could be arrested at Sydney Airport over a high-speed chase in a stolen car on the central coast of New South Wales in March 2005.

Lawrence had been due to face court over the pursuit but she was arrested with 2.2kg of heroin strapped to her back and legs at Bali’s airport, along with eight other Australians attempting to smuggle the drug.

But the NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, indicated a deal with her lawyers was more likely than arrest on arrival.

“I can confirm there’s two outstanding arrest warrants for her and, from our perspective, we will make a time reasonable with her legal team to bring her in to have those warrants satisfied,” he told reporters in Sydney on Tuesday.

The Bali prison governor said he hoped Lawrence would be helped to integrate back into Australian life.

Asked whether some other prisoners might miss Lawrence, the prison chief said that was a “private” matter for her and others.

At Kerobokan prison on Tuesday, Matthew Norman, one of the remaining Bali Nine prisoners serving a life sentence, told journalists that he was keeping busy doing silverwork and other activities.

He and fellow remaining Bali Nine prisoners had to concentrate on themselves, Norman said. They were not bitter or negative.

“She got her sentence and we got ours – we can’t worry about it,” he added.

Norman was 18 when arrested.

He plays tennis and engages in boxing as well as teaching other prisoners English and getting involved in art classes. He also attends church services and reads the Bible.