Denpasar, Bali (Antara Bali) -- A Russian woman was sentenced to 16 years in jail here on Monday after being convicted of illegally importing two kilograms of methamphetamine.
Magnaeva Aleksandra (26) was also fined Rp10 billion, failing to pay which her sentence will be extended for another six months.
"The defendant was validly and convincingly proven guilty of committing a crime by importing more than five grams of a category I non-plant narcotic drug without any right or against the law," chief judge of the district court in Denpasar, I Wayan Sukanila, said while reading the verdict.
The judges believe that the defendant had acted against Article 113 Paragraph 2 of Law Number 35 of 2009 on narcotics in the first charge.
The sentence was lighter than the prosecutors` demand for 17 years in jail, but the fine was the same as their demand.
Among factors that worked in favor of Aleksandra and reduced her sentence were that she had been polite during the court`s session, has never been jailed before, had admitted her guilt, and pledged to not repeat her action.
Aleksandra was caught by customs officers at Bali`s Ngurah Rai Airport on December 7, 2014, carrying narcotic drug methamphetamine weighing 2,101 grams.
The defendant brought the illegal substance from Hong Kong aboard Hong Kong Airlines Flight Number 707.
The customs officers saw something suspicious in the suitcase she was carrying through X-Ray screening. After opening it, they found five plastic bags containing two kilograms of methamphetamine.
The defendant, flanked by her lawyer Hari Purwanto, said she accepted the verdict.
Recently, Indonesia executed eight drug convicts on death row on the island of Nusakambangang, off southern Central Java.
The eight drug convicts were Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran from Australia; Raheem Agbaje Salami, Silvester Obiekwe Nwaolise alias Mustofa, and Okwudili Oyatanze from Nigeria; Zainal Abidin from Indonesia; Rodrigo Gularte from Brazil; and Martin Anderson alias Belo from Ghana.
The execution of another drug convict on death row, Mary Jane Fiesta Veloso from the Philippines, was postponed because she is still needed as a witness in a human trafficking case in her country.
Moreover, French citizen Serge Areski Atlaoui evaded the second round of executions as a judicial review of his case is still ongoing at the State Administrative Court (PTUN).
If the PTUN rejects his appeal, he will be executed as planned, Spokesman for the Attorney General`s Office Spontana affirmed.
On January 18, Indonesia executed six drug convicts on death row, including five foreigners.
They were Malawi national Namaona Denis (48), Brazilian Marco Archer Cardoso Moreira (52), Nigerian Daniel Enemuo (38), Dutchman Ang Kiem Soei (62), Vietnamese woman Tran Thi Bich Hanh (37), and Indonesian citizen Rani Andriani alias Melisa Aprilia. (WDY)
