T

he Denpasar District Court sentenced the Australian boy who bought marijuana near Kuta Beach to two months’ imprisonment on Friday.

Presiding judge Amzer Simanjuntak stated that Lewis Alan Mason, 14, was found guilty of violating Article 127 of the Narcotics Law for possessing and abusing marijuana.

“Therefore the panel of judges sentences the defendant to two months’ imprisonment and orders him to pay the trial’s administrative fee of Rp 2,000 [22 US cents],” he said.

The boy, wearing a Batik shirt, cast a downward glance as Amzer read the verdict, before his parents embraced him moments later.

The verdict takes into consideration time already served by Mason, meaning he will remain incarcerated for 10 more days until he is eligible for release on Dec. 5.

The sentence is lighter than the three months’ imprisonment sought by prosecutors.

Amzer cited several mitigating factors when sentencing the boy, including the “honest confession” offered by Mason and a promise not to repeat the same offense.

“The defendant is still young and his parents have declared their ability to supervise him and to send him to a drug rehabilitation facility in their country,” Amzer said, adding that the sentence should serve as a warning to others. Both prosecutors and defense counsel have seven days to file an appeal.

Mason’s attorney, Muhammad Rifan, said he was disappointed by the verdict, regretting that the judges did not consider Article 128 of the Narcotics Law, which allowed for minors arrested for drug offenses to be released to their parents for drug rehabilitation programs.

The judges’ decision to sentence Mason to jail came as a surprise. Prior to the announcement of the verdict, many believed that the judges would forego a custodial sentence and return the boy to his parents.

The notion was fueled by perceptions of “special” treatment the boy apparently received as his case proceeded through the legal system.

The police, for example, sped the investigation process to bring the boy to trial as soon as possible. During the trial, the boy was not detained at Kerobokan Prison or Bali’s juvenile offender facility in Karangasem. Instead he was placed in a 35-square-meter room in the immigration’s detention facility in Jimbaran, where he was accompanied by his parents.

While Mason had access to a Playstation gaming console during his detention, 11 Indonesian children were incarcerated at Kerobokan Prison in blocks with adult