Driving in Indonesia

Keeping to the theme of driving in Indonesia.

The Jakarta Post reported last Saturday that a Brazilian fella has found himself in jail for killing a person in Legian, Bali, in a hit and run. In truth, the JP actually headlined with "... Brazilian driver kills motorists" then went on to say that he killed one person and put another 4 people in hospital.

Guilherme Guedo was apparently in Bali on business and after a night out on the turps decided that he needed to have some fun. Some reports suggest he tried to jack a motorbike from some unsuspecting Balinese and then in the end managed to steal a laundry van. I am wondering what kind of business this fella is in, just as a matter of interest, and how drunk do you have to be to want to steal a laundry van and then decide to drive against the flow of the traffic?

Interestingly, the news does not seem to mention the business or the age of Guedo but the Police Chief of Denpasar is intent that Guedo's family must pay for the medical expenses of the victims. On this front I am not sure how this would work. I also wonder why the family should pay for the crimes of adult siblings. Why should Guedo not be personally responsible for his actions?

Guedo has been charged with stealing the van and dangerous driving resulting in death. He is liable for a stint in an Indonesian jail of up to 10 years. It seems that 4.1kg of weed is a far more serious offense than drinking and driving and then killing someone. I wonder whether the rationale is that the weed could potentially kill more people and therefore is a more serious crime?

Drink and drive, idiot!

Schapelle Corby -- Transfer Refused

The Department of Law and Human Rights has officially rejected a Corby request to move to the Bangli Prison. The Bangli Prison is still in Bali but it is closer to the Australian Consulate in comparison to Kerobokan Prison. The other feature of the Corby request was that one of the reasons was her deteriorating mental health.

By all reports Corby's mental health is still precarious. This may or may not be true. Nevertheless, the manner in which the rejection is characterized is certainly not going to be of any assistance in improving the Corby depression.

The basic reason for the rejection is that she has not served a long enough portion of her sentence. It seems that if she had served 3/4 of her sentence then the request might have been considered favourably. This comment suggests two things; the Department is not going to provide any preferential treatment to Corby and that they expect her to do her sentence in Bali.

Schapelle Corby -- A New Investigation?

The latest series of allegations to be doing the rounds suggests that perhaps a further investigation is warranted. Mercedes Corby and the extended Corby family seem to be demanding a further investigation, simply as a means of clearing her family's name, once and for all.

This is in spite of Queensland Police saying that they are not doing one as there is insufficient evidence, at least for now, to warrant one. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) on the other hand are making no comment, make of that what you will.

There were some inherent problems in the court case that led to Schapelle Corby's original conviction. These problems relate to matters such as the testing of the actual drugs and whether or not their exact origin could have been determined through laboratory testing. The other major problem was finger print analysis of the bag in which the drugs were contained. To this end finger print evidence might only show that Schapelle Corby did not handle the sealed plastic bag that contained the drugs. In this case no finger prints is hardly evidence of innocence as the wearing of gloves would rule out the presence of fingerprints.

Nevertheless, as I have written previously, where there is this much smoke there is an increased likelihood of discovering fire. The question is whether or not a further investigation and the expenses involved are warranted. Malcolm McCauley, the man behind the latest allegations, has just been released from prison and Michael Corby Sr is dead, so unless McCauley is going to divulge all of the players involved in this little drug trafficking scheme, then the value of any investigation seems to be limited.

There are also issues of whether an investigation will clear the Corby's names of any involvement or only muddy the waters even further and even if the investigation turns up nothing and seemingly clears the Corby's of the McCauley allegations, how and what would the impact be on Schapelle Corby's situation as a convicted drug trafficker sitting in an Indonesian prison on the resort island of Bali?

This is a sad tale for the Corby family for sure but it is riveting reading for many others, me included! Although I am more interested in the legal angles and the avenues of review if and when certain things come to light.

As always, the saga continues.

Makassar Bans Donations to Street Children and Beggars

I have always wondered about the common sense of prohibiting good Samaritans from giving money to street children and other beggars that populate the traffic bottlenecks that surround Jakarta and other big cities in Indonesia. Nevertheless, common sensical or not Makassar has decided that the street children and beggars are a problem that stems from the generosity of passers-by who fork over any spare change that they might have.

In Makassar there has been a sharp increase in the numbers of street children and beggars populating the traffic lighted intersections. In 2006 there were a mere 870. This has risen to some 2,600 this year. The solution as the Mayor of Makassar, Ilham Arif Siradjuddin, sees it, is to prohibit people from giving the street children and beggars money.

The ordinance, No. 2 of 2008, provides for fines of IDR 1.5 million and terms of imprisonment of up to 3 months. Those caught begging face fines of up to IDR 5 million and 3 years imprisonment.

The stupidity of an ordinance like this is that it criminalizes poverty and lack of opportunity. It is draconian and it is backward. The Mayor and the people of Makassar should be embarrassed by such an ordinance. If a street kid had IDR 5 million then they would not need to be begging for money or food. To put someone in prison for being poor is the crime and not the circumstance of being poor.

It is time that the local government of Makassar stepped up and provided alternative opportunities for the poor. These opportunities should not only include free education for children but must also include measures that make the education truly free. There needs to be budget allocations for uniforms and books and other miscellaneous expenses.

Nevertheless, Makassar is not the first and is unlikely to be the last. The cities in Indonesia that now have local ordinances like this one include: Jakarta, Denpasar, and Medan.

The idea that donations should be provided to the Department of Social Affairs and NGOs who deal with poverty issues seems to conveniently ignore the fact that neither the Department nor the NGOs are able to cope with the problem of poverty and increasing numbers of street children and beggars.

Ordinances such as these are a backward step for sure!

Schapelle Corby -- Suicide Watch

The ongoing Schapelle Corby saga has taken a much more serious and sad turn with Corby being hospitalized for depression and rapid weight loss. Prison is a stressful place I am sure but it would seem that Corby has lost the will to fight after the rejection of her latest appeal. It is easy to say, "if you do the crime, you have to do the time", but if you genuinely believe in your innocence then doing the time must seem very unfair.

The weight loss in itself does not seem to be overly serious provided it does not continue. Having lost 12 kilos in the space of a month when not dieting is a concern but aside from being a little skinny at 5'2" and 45 kilos the weight would not seem to be a physical problem yet.

However, what is probably more of a concern to her family and medical staff are reports of hallucinations and paranoia. Doctors are reporting she is not taking any drugs and the hallucinations and paranoia are the result of emotional responses and not physical ones. What is interesting to me is that Corby was prescribed anti-depressants two weeks ago but by all accounts the hallucinations and paranoia are worsening. Not only worsening but worsening to a point where she is considered a danger to herself and others. She is now on a purportedly 24-hour a day suicide watch.

A psychiatrist, Lely Setyawati, has been brought in to assist with Corby's treatment and has since recommended that Corby be hospitalized indefinitely. Indefinite hospitalization indicates that the problems that Corby has are a little more serious than just having a bad day.

All of these developments are occurring simultaneously with the airing on Channel 9 tonight of a documentary on the Corby case, Schapelle Corby: The Hidden Truth, which is supposedly going to explode the myths surrounding the case. Considering all the exposure that the case has had in the past it seems a bit of a reach to suggest that there are still lingering issues that have not been examined at some point previously.

With a bit of luck the documentary might get a screening here in Jakarta so that Channel 9 can challenge me and explode the myths surrounding the case (photo by Jason Childs / SMH).