The New Zealand man accused of smuggling drugs into Indonesia has finally started trial in Bali. Remember? The one who says an online romance went sour, resulting in him getting duped? That one.
Kiwi Antony de Malmanche’s trial could take at least six months, according to New Zealand’s One News, and he could even get the death penalty if he is found guilty of drug trafficking. A charge that prosecutors have already said they will pursue. De Malmanche’s trial started in front of a panel of three judges today in Denpasar District Court.
The kiwi was arrested on December 1, 2014 at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport with 1.7 kilograms of meth in his backpack.
De Malmanche’s lawyers argue that their client had no idea that he was traveling with the meth, when he was caught by customs in Bali.
He says he was supposed to meet “Jessie,” a woman who he had been dating online but ended up diverted to China by a man claiming to be her personal assistant.
Photo: AFP
