In November of last year, Masaru Kawada a 73-year-old Japanese citizen was arrested at Padang’s Minangkabau International Airport airport for trying to smuggle 2.35 kg of crystal methamphetamines into Indonesia.
Kawada claimed that he was not aware there were any drugs in his bag when he was caught. But that defense was not enough to convince the Indonesian legal system to let him off the hook, as yesterday he was sentenced to life in jail by a District Court Judge in West Sumatra.
As seems to often happen in these cases, the judge actually imposed a far heavier sentence than that requested by the state prosecutor, who asked that the elderly man be given 16 years in prison.
Kawada’s lawyer is already preparing to appeal the sentence.
Kawada flew to Padang from Macau via Kuala Lumpur. He said he met a Chinese woman in Macau who asked him to bring a bag to her friend in Padang. Kawada said he checked the bag but did not find anything suspicious inside. He said he was shocked when customs officers stopped him at the Padang airport and revealed the methamphetamines stored in his bag.
The Japanese Consulate in Jakarta said it was monitoring Kawada’s case and would offer him whatever assistance they could.
