Thai woman gets 10 years jail for smuggling 4.2kg heroin

TANGERANG (JP): The Tangerang District Court sentenced on Thursday a 32-year-old Thai woman, Supharon Phanluang, to 10 years in jail and imposed a Rp 15 million (US$1,890) fine, after the court found her guilty of trafficking in 4.25 kilograms of heroin.

Presiding judge Jesminar Idrus said the sentence was based on the testimony of witnesses and available evidence.

The defendant wept after the sentence was handed down.

Judge Jesminar said Phanluang, alias Nang, left Thailand's capital Bangkok, arriving on Feb. 17 at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

She said the defendant had concealed the drugs in a suitcase with a floral motif.

The contraband was detected by airport customs officials after the defendant's luggage passed through an X-ray detector.

Airport officials opened the suitcase and pricked the lining with a needle, exposing the white powder.

The officials used a narcotic tester to confirm their suspicions, Judge Jesminar said.

Customs officials then handed over the suspect to the airport police, together with the drugs. The National Police Forensic Laboratory later confirmed the white powder as grade-one heroin.

During preliminary investigations, the defendant claimed that the heroin was not her personal possession, the judge said.

Judge Jesminar said Nang argued that the package belonged to a Thai man named Peko, whom she had met a few days before her arrest in at a nightclub in Bangkok.

She said the defendant claimed that Peko promised financial rewards if Nang was prepared to act as a courier and deliver the goods to an Indonesian woman named Sriyanti.

Judge Jesminar said Sriyanti was waiting for Nang's arrival at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, but disappeared after hearing that Nang had been handcuffed by customs officials.

The panel of judges did not appear to take into account the defendant's argument.

The judges said the defendant had violated Chapter 81, Article 1 of Law No. 22/1997 on Narcotics, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in jail and a fine of Rp 750 million.

The sentence against Nang was much lighter than demanded by prosecutor Rustam Nawawi, who asked the court to sentence the Thai woman to 15 years in prison.

Judge Jesminar said the crime committed by the defendant could ruin people's morality, which in turn could endanger the nation as a whole.

She said that additionally, if the drugs had been delivered it would have damaged Indonesia's tough stance on drugs.

The judges said mitigating circumstances in the defendant's favor were her relatively young age and her politeness in the courtroom.

Judge Jesminar said the defendant had also expressed regret for her part in the crime.

The defendant, through her lawyer Herry Gunawan, said she was considering appealing the verdict. (41/asa)