Singaporean faces 15 years' jail term

Singaporean faces 15 years' jail term

TANGERANG: Prosecutor R. Vidianto asked the Tangerang District
court on Wednesday to sentence a Singaporean, Tay Lai Hock, 31,
to 15 years imprisonment and fine him Rp 750 million
(US$82,417.58) for possessing 20,400 ecstasy pills.

The prosecutor charged the defendant with violating Article 59
of Law No. 5/1997 on psychotropic substances. The Article carries
a maximum punishment of 15 years in prison.

Hock was arrested by customs and excise officers at Soekarno-
Hatta International Airport on May 5 before boarding a flight to
Sydney, Australia. The defendant strapped the drugs, which were
wrapped in four plastic bags, to his body and wore a jacket to
cover them.

He said he purchased the drugs from someone in Jakarta and
would sell them in Sydney.

Presiding judge Suprapto adjourned the trial until next week
to hear the statement from the defense. -- JP