18-year-old Perth schoolie Jamie Murphy was arrested and held on suspicion of drug possession in after being refused entry into a Kuta nightclub in Bali on at around 1am Tuesday morning (4am AEDT).
Murphy responded to guards taking a small baggie of white powder from his Billabong bumbag with,
“It’s not mine, I haven’t taken it, what are you doing, it’s not mine. It’s not mine. I didn’t bring this. I only drink.”
While he initially denied the bag was his, he’s now admitted to purchasing the bag of white powder.
He’s now officially spent his first night in a Balinese jail cell, but is still yet to be fully interrogated by police.
While Murphy‘s family is reportedly yet to see him, his friends (who he was visiting Bali with for schoolies) have come to see him in jail. They refused to talk to media, apart from confirming that they were his friends.
Photo: Supplied.
One friend, Ty Airey, has also publicly posted accusations on social media that Murphy was set up, stating:
“A big f**k you to the Australian media, you can clearly see the cocaine in the security’s hand BEFORE he even opened up the bag, don’t drag his name through the gutter when even the video u posted has it clearly showing a set up”.
He links to the below image, claiming that it shows the security guard holding the bag of white powder before Murphy opens his bumbag:
Many are questioning why the security guard had choked Murphy when arresting him outside the Sky Garden nightclub (top photo). The bouncer responded,
“He was not responding to police questions and kept his head away from the camera so I grabbed his chin so he faced the camera.”
Indonesian law is famously strict for drug users, dealers and traffickers. Less than 5g of grade-one drugs carries a jail sentence of 4 -12 years and a fine of up to $900,000. If the person is carrying over 5g of grade-one drugs, the maximum penalty is death.
Police have confirmed that the the net weight of the white powder Murphy was carrying is 1.46g (total weight including bag 1.69g). Laboratory tests are still yet to determine what the white powder was that the teenager was carrying, and if indeed it was drugs at all.
Indonesian law also states that authorities have three days to hold someone in custody before they decide if Murphy is a ‘suspect’ or not. If they declare him a suspect at the end of three days (in two days time), this essentially means he’s being formally charged and will face trial.
Photo: Nine News.
