F

rancois Jacques Giuily, a 49-year-old Frenchman, has been sentenced to 15 years'€™ imprisonment in a trial at Denpasar District Court on Wednesday.

The panel of judges declared Giuily guilty of attempting to smuggle 3 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine into Bali and thus violating Article 113, subsection 1, of the Narcotics Law.

'€œWe declare the defendant, Francois Jacques Giuily, guilty of importing type one narcotics, as regulated in article 113 subsection 2 of Law no. 35/2009 on narcotics,'€ presiding judge I Gd Ketut Wanugraha said.

Giuily was also fined Rp 8 billion (US$695,000) or an additional three months in prison in the case of non-payment.

The sentence is lighter than the 17 years sought by prosecutor Gusti Putu Gede Atmaja. The prosecutor had also demanded the panel impose a Rp 10 billion fine on Giuily, or an additional three months'€™ imprisonment.

'€œThe defendant has never committed any crime before and was always polite during the trial,'€ the judge said in his considerations. However, he deemed the defendant had acted against the Indonesian government'€™s program to eradicate drug abuse.

Responding to the sentence, Giuily'€™s lawyer, Suroso, said they would not appeal the verdict as it was '€œtoo risky'€.

However, Suroso said that the judge'€™s verdict was unfair. '€œThe judge did not consider that the defendant was forced to do this as he is unemployed and needed money for his sick mother'€™s treatment,'€ Suroso said.

Giuily was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in January as he passed through the customs and excise checkpoint at the airport, having arrived onboard Malaysia Airlines Flight MH867 from Kuala Lumpur. Three kilograms of crystal meth was found in a hidden compartment inside his suitcase.

The drugs were reportedly worth in excess of Rp 6 billion at current street prices.

In a statement, Giuily said he had been given $4,000 to take the drugs to a guest house on the island. It was also revealed that this was not his first drug-smuggling run.

Earlier in May, a Frenchman named Thierry Claude Joseph Verchere, 47, was sentenced to 10 months in prison after being caught with 112 grams of cocaine. The sentence was far lighter than that recommended by the police, as prosecutors only sought a one-year sentence.

Meanwhile, a South African is now facing 19 years in prison for allegedly attempting to smuggle 1.49 kg of crystal meth into Bali. Stephen Henri Lubbe, 58, is now waiting for the judge'€™s verdict, which is expected within the next two weeks.

On July 8, the prosecutor demanded a 19-year prison term for Lubbe. The prosecutor also demanded the panel impose a fine of Rp 10 billion on the defendant, or an additional month'€™s imprisonment. His defense statement was heard last week but failed to change the prosecutor'€™s stance.

Lubbe was arrested at Ngurah Rai airport on Feb. 9 upon arrival from Hong Kong. At the customs and excise checkpoint at the airport, officials found 1.49 kg of crystal meth in a hidden compartment inside his suitcase. The drugs were reportedly worth Rp 3.08 billion.