UPDATE Powder allegedly found on Aussie at Bali’s Skygarden isn’t drugs: Reports
An Australian teen who was stopped at popular Bali nightclub Skygarden, allegedly with white powder in his bumbag on Tuesday, has just spent his first full night in a Kuta police cell.
Police have taken blood and urine samples from 18-year-old Jamie Murphy for narcotics testing and are also analyzing the white powder to determine what the substance really is.
Kuta Police Chief Commissioner Wayan Sumara said police suspect the powder is cocaine or heroin. Murphy could face a max penalty of 12 years prison time, according to the police chief.
“He said he got it from one of the people on the street,” Sumara said, as quoted by Australia’s 7 News.
Murphy can apparently be held by police for up to three days before being named a suspect, under Indonesian law, meaning he would be formally charged and face trial.
The parents of the Perth teen reportedly flew out from Oz on Wednesday morning to Bali to see their son.
Meanwhile, staff from the Australian Consulate have also arranged a meeting, Aussie FM Julie Bishop has said.
While Murphy’s arrest comes right at Australian “schoolies week” has kicked off, where high school students party hard after finishing their exams, often choosing Bali as their destination, it turns out that he is not a “schoolie”. The Perth teen graduated from Ellen brook Secondary College last year, according to his school.
A video clip of the teen’s arrest shows him adamantly denying that the powder was his, as club security holds up the substance, and has prompted the Aussie’s friends to suggest he was set up.
“A big f**k you to the Australian media, you can clearly see the cocaine in the security’s hand BEFORE he even opened up the bag, don’t drag his name through the gutter when even the video u posted has it clearly showing a set up,” posted ‘Ty Airey’ on social media, an individual claiming to be Murphy’s friend.
Since his arrest, Murphy’s friends have further expressed doubt that the teen would be in possession of drugs, saying it out of character and revealing that he’s a talented footballer.
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