Australians imprisoned in RI get sentence reduction

A number of Australians imprisoned in Bali for drug cases have had their sentences reduced as part of the country's 66th Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday.

Schapelle Leigh Corby, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2005, received five months off her sentence reduction. The Denpasar District Court put Corby in prison for smuggling 4.2 kilograms of marijuana to Bali in 2005.

Renae Lawrence, who was involved in a major drug case, known as the Bali Nine, received six months remission. Lawrence was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2006 for smuggling 8.3 kilograms of heroin from Indonesia to Australia a year earlier. However, her imprisonment was reduced to 20 years upon an appeal.

Another Australian, Nico Ferdos, also got six months' remission. Nico, who is at the Bangli prison, was sentenced to 15 years in jail for a drug case in 2005.

The remissions for the Australians are part of 55, 234 sentence reductions given to inmates nationwide following good behavior. (rcf)