A Singaporean techno DJ, on trial for trying to smuggling cocaine into Bali through the postal service, was found guilty and sentenced to 11 years prison.
Muhammad Faliq Bin Nordin will also have to pay a fine of Rp 1 billion or spend four more months behind bars, over the 122 grams of cocaine he was caught picking up from a Denpasar post office in 2016.
The 32-year-old violated Article 112 Paragraph 2 of Law Number 35 Year 2009 on Narcotics, Chief Judge Gde Ginarsa said in Denpasar District Court on Monday.
Nordin’s penalty is actually lighter than what prosecutors had demanded—they had pressed for 13 years prison.
As is quite common with sentencing in Bali, the Singaporean was shown the minor leniency by acknowledging his actions and being polite during proceedings, according to local reports.
In his trial, it was revealed that Nordin took two parcels from the Netherlands on September 10, 2016 from a post office in Renon, Denpasar. The recipient had actually been marked as Kobu Raum Dekodex, with an address in Sanur. Both packages had different senders, but both from the Netherlands. Upon inspection, Bali Customs found that the first package contained white powder (that later tested positive as narcotics) hidden in ceramic pottery, covered in candle wax. The second package was flagged and was also found to contain drugs.
Nordin came to the post office with a letter indicating that Kobu Raum gave him permission to pick-up the packages, Bali customs told reporters after the Singaporean’s arrest.
The Singaporean had apparently been working as a DJ in Bali several months prior to his arrest. Spinning under the name FAL:X, the DJ is attached to renowned techno labels such as Italo Business and Cobb Recordings, and has played in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines aside from regular stints in a number of clubs back in his home country.
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