Revaldo -- Recreational Use or Addiction?

Some people never learn, and one of those who has not learnt his lesson after some prison time for drug possession is Fifaldi Suria Permana. Permana is a bit of a sinetron star and goes by the name of Revaldo (not to be confused with Ronaldo, either Christian Ronaldo or Ronaldo Ronaldo :D). This is the second time that Revaldo has been stung in possession of methamphetamines.

If Indonesia had a 3-strike rule he would certainly be on the bubble of a very long custodial sentence. Considering, the first time around he went for a 2-year stint in the slammer, a second offence so soon after teh first would seemingly warrant a longer sentence. At least, anecdotally, it would appear that Revaldo has a drug problem  that might be better handled with an rehabilitation intervention as opposed to another stint in the hole.

I am not a meth user, so I have absolutely no idea how much is a lot and how much is a little. However, the West Jakarta police allegedly caught young Revaldo with 50 grams of meth in his possession. Interestingly, the police revealed that they were tipped off about Revaldo heading out to meet his deal for a hit. The police followed him, allowed the transaction to happen, ans then pounced on their man. According to the police, Revaldo tried to make a run for it, but the car chase was over before it begun and Revaldo was arrested.

The police are referring to Revaldo as a three-dimension player. Apparently, a three-dimension player is one who enjoys some wacky weed, a few E, and then some methamphetamines to top it all off. Supposedly, this is a common thing in Indonesia as users look for increasingly better and more sustained 'hits'.

Yet, the kicker is in the police making public that they are watching 22 other celebrities. Now, if you are a celebrity and a user, you have to be wondering whether the police are looking at you...sounds like a good recipe for some paranoia!

So, is Revaldo an addict or just an unlucky recreational user who just seems to be prone to getting caught?

Jennifer Dunn -- Drugs Bust

Jennifer Dunn does not sound like your typical Indonesian name however there is no doubt that she is Indonesian. It seems that every now and then a young Indonesian starlet finds herself in trouble with drugs, and I find myself blogging about it. I have in the past posted about Sheila Marcia Joseph and her troubles. I should probably do another post on Sheila now that she is back in jail and pregnant.

However, back to Jennifer Dunn. Police are reporting that Ms. Dunn has been arrested with friends in a boarding house in the Cilandak area of South Jakarta. Apparently, she and her friends were involved in, and by all accounts enjoying, a little get together where drugs were brought out and shared. The police had wind of this little get together and were quick to break it up just as the party was seemingly getting started.

The police have the power to demand a urine test where there is a suspicion of drug use. Generally, being caught with methamphetamine, ecstasy, and other drugs is probably reasonable suspicion for the police to act. The urine tests for Jennifer and her two friends were positive. The urine test for her acting colleague and friend, Vicky Nitinegoro, was negative. The most likely scenario is that the police will now pressure Vicky to testify against the others as a means of avoiding prosecution himself.

This is not the first time Ms. Dunn has be busted for drugs. She was busted back in 2005 as a 16-year-old.

Drugs in School

How times change. I really cannot remember any instances when I was 16-years-old and in school that my peers were selling ecstasy or other drugs. This tended to happen off of school premises as I recall. And, it was small time and infrequent and was not my scene.

However, it seems that times have indeed changed. A 16-year-old turning up to school late has had his bag searched by the school principal. Apparently, the student gave his permission for the search to take place. Well, bugger me if the principal did not find 94 tablets, thought to be ecstasy, with a street value of some AUD 3000.

Unfortunately for the kid, his parents, and possibly his supplier, he was denied bail. It would seem that the police prosecutor has managed to convince the Children's Court that the child is part of a sophisticated operation and that the alleged crime is of sufficient seriousness that bail should be denied.

The youngster has no criminal record. I guess if you're gonna go for it, then you should go hard, the whole nine yards, so to speak.

I wonder is this the start of the vicious cycle of crime and routine trips to prison? Or is this the pre-cursor to a second chance?

Sheila Marcia Joseph and Hearing No. 2

The second hearing in this case at the North Jakarta District Court took place earlier today. I might have to head along to the next one to make sure that I am getting accurate information rather than relying on talking to people and reading the news.

It seems the indictment states 0.586 grams of Crystal Meth (sabu-sabu or shabu in Indonesian) and not 0.0586 grams as previously posted. I will have to check this to be sure in my own mind on what the actual amount is because on of the police officers states a number of 0.27 grams as the amount found on Sheila.

There were four witnesses present today, two police officers and a couple of people identified as informant and friend, respectively.

The witnesses were: Wing Kenedy and Dedy Raharjo (police officers) and Toni (an informant) and Virdia (allegedly a "party / clubbing" friend of Sheila's).

The testimony from the police was the standard run of the mill relaying of how the whole thing went down from start to finish and their respective involvement in that process. They were clear that Sheila was not the target of their little operation. The testimony of Wing Kenedy was not subject to any objection from Sheila to the extent that she did not deny any of the points of evidence as they related to her.

The whole operation was based on complaints that the two rooms that were the focus of the operation were known to residents of the Golden Sky Hotel (I always thought that they were apartments) to be often the scene of drug transactions.

As it turns out Sheila might be the victim of bad timing in terms of being in either room on the day if the operation. This is a case of what ifs, "what if I never used drugs?", "what if I went to the Golden Sky on a different day?"

The testimony from the police informant is a little strange as it seems to implicate the assistant, Aprilyana, as a dealer or at least a one-time seller who was prepared to trade Toni's mobile phone for a packet of drugs. Sheila's claim that she was a little confused and unsure of who Toni was seems to be borne out by the testimony. Nevertheless, Sheila does not deny that Toni was there only that she really did not know why he was there. However, it raises some questions about Aprilyana and her role.

The testimony of Virdia is interesting as it indicates that Virdia was friends with Sheila and Aprilyana and that they were all regular users of sabu-sabu. Virdia also claims that she has known Sheila for a year or so and that she has only been using crystal meth since May. Her testimony goes on to state that Virdia, Sheila, and Aprilyana were regulars at the Stadium Discotheque and that they were all regular users of ecstasy (locally known as ineks).

Sheila rejected the testimony of Virdia by saying that she had never taken ecstasy.

This case sounds like it is going to be interesting, at least from the point of conflicting testimony, so maybe I should head on up to the North Jakarta District Court for the next hearing.

Jimmy Barnes + Cold Chisel

One of my all time favourite Australian bands is Cold Chisel and I am glad to say that I introduced the band to a few people around the globe and continue to do so! There is nothing like singing your heart along to the sweet sounds of Khe Sanh, Cheap Wine, Forever Now, or Saturday Night after a barbecue and a few beers with friends.

I have always followed the career of Jimmy Barnes with interest and recently read something about his biography in something called the Icons of Australian Music: Jimmy Barnes! The revelations were like how the hell does one live to tell this tale?

The revelations included this pearler on the period of his life from 1998 - 2002:

"I was doing about 10 grams of cocaine a day, maybe taking six or eight ecstasy [pills] and drinking three bottles of vodka - all in a day, every day".

Barnes is now clean and sober. His marriage is supposedly stronger than ever and he is now recognized as a global UNICEF parent. By all accounts he and his wife have raised four well-adjusted kids. This is testament to the character of the individual and to his family that in spite of all these demons he has managed to do what so many struggle to do!

I would not survive a week, let alone four or five years of this kind of drug and alcohol use (or abuse)! Yet, despite this I have no less respect for the man or Cold Chisel, they remain favourites.