Schapelle Corby

Aug 25th, 2009, in News, by

Schapelle CorbyThe Schapelle Corby saga, the stresses of life in a Bali jail have brought on insanity.

Convicted Australian drug trafficker Schapelle Leigh Corby, known affectionately as “Schappers”, serving a 20 year sentence in Bali’s Kerobokan jail for smuggling 4.2kg of marijuana in 2004, has been pronounced insane by a psychiatrist from Australia, Jonathan Phillips.

Jonathan Phillips
Jonathan Phillips

Associate Professor Jonathan Phillips, who is the former president of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP), visited Schapelle Corby in early August and said the surfer girl from the Gold Coast in sunny Queensland feels

cut off from society, useless, broken, without hope

Therefore the doctor diagnosed her as ‘crazy’ and at risk of committing suicide.

If 32 year old Corby were forced to serve out her sentence in Bali her condition could only worsen, he said, and recommended that she be moved to Australia.

Schapelle Corby
Schapelle Corby

It appears that Dr Phillips’ visit to Corby is part of a renewed effort by the Corby family to have the Australian government take up the case with its Indonesian counterpart. antara


116 Comments on “Schapelle Corby”

  1. Bule in Bali says:

    Why can’t she be Tommy’s running mate for the Golkar chairmanship?

  2. semutz_imoetz says:

    let the bitch rot in HELL.

    For christ’s sake, I’m sick of hearing this crap in the media daily here in Australia.

    WHO F*CKING CARES about her!!!!!!

  3. Rob says:

    Patung…

    I have run a whole series on the Corby saga over at my humble blogspot abode I was going to link it here but that would be a little opportunistic on my part.

    However, there is a online poll / survey running at the moment over at Yahoo Australia. It has had almost 13,000 responses. It would seem that 57% of respondents are of the opinion that Corby should stay where she is.

  4. Suryo Perkoso says:

    String the old bag up, spare us the cost of nasi jagung every day.

  5. nev says:

    Do your own investigation and if anyone can prove that the drugs were in her bag when she checked it in at Brisbane then I’ll give that person $1000AUD. The Indonesian police could not prove it, so have a go. All Australia will thank you for your effort.

  6. Rob says:

    @ SP…

    Would you be so keen to have her strung up if she was your daughter? She made a mistake and an error in judgment. It was not one that she should be strung up for and it is not one she should be doing 20 years for either.

    However, that said, Australians have to learn that they are at the mercies of the laws that they break while they are overseas.

    @ Nev…

    Do the Indonesian police and prosecutors have to prove that the drugs were in her bag when it left Brisbane or just that it was in her bag when she arrived in Denpasar? Wouldn’t Corby have to prove the alternative as a defense to what she was charged with, namely: that she was set up by corrupt and crooked baggage handlers in Brisbane?

    I am not sure that all Australians believe that she is innocent. Maybe an argument could be made that a majority believe that she has been hard done by. But, there is probably a good number as well who believe she committed the crime and if she did not want to do the time then perhaps she should have thought a little harder before trying to smuggle drugs into Indonesia.

    The issue is slowly but surely morphing into whether Indonesia releases Corby on compassionate grounds. They might, but I would be guessing that they would have a few demands to go with any release.

  7. madrotter says:

    i for one hope they’ll send her home, can’t imagine what she has been through so far…

  8. Ross says:

    Prisons here are not pretty, though if you have money or connections, it seems to be more bearable. She does not have either, I guess, so it is tough on her, as madrotter says.
    It would be interesting to get some more info on Aussie public opinion – my own contacts suggest there is little support for freeing her, though that probably ebbs and flows with the level of cordiality between the two countries.

    I don’t think hanging her would be right. The death penalty should be reserved for murderers, traitors and terrorists.

    Was Corby guilty? There would seem to be little advantage in police or prosecutors setting her up, only a guarantee of an uproar, esp. because she is young and pretty.
    If proof emerges that she was framed, then let’s review the case.

    Meantime, she deserves no special consideration. Too many foreigners who like drugs seem to think their nationality gives them a special dispensation. It shouldn’t, and it doesn’t.
    The airport signs make it clear what the penalties are, so people who ignore clear warnings have only themselves to blame.

    I don’t like several aspects of the law here but whilst we can criticise, it is up to Indonesians to change it.

  9. michele says:

    I can imagine being in a Bali prison would be insanity-provoking for any Westerner, raised in an atmosphere of comfort. Whether she is “clinically insane”, “depressed”, or just desperate to get out is subjective. Every defense team employs sympathetic psychiatrists, and it wouldn’t be difficult for a family, or defense, to find such a doctor to plead their case, even if the symptoms were made up.

    That doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize with Corby, just that her diagnosis, even though made by a doctor, is not indisputable.

    Even if she is insane, she is in a Bali justice center, where their laws apply. Utilizing a shrink from Australia, is bound to make them dig in even deeper and keep her.

    Supporters of this girl don’t realize that they are constantly provoking this country, and that’s probably why she will not get compassionate release or leniency. They are portrayed as backwards, and that hurts Schappelle’s cause, not helps it.

    I’m sorry for Schappelle, and if it were up to me, she’d be released for time served. The case was flawed, and even though I tend to believe she’s probably guilty, there is room for reasonable doubt. But, I was not her judge hearing her case, and in any system, judges’ verdicts are all that counts.

  10. Odinius says:

    Ross

    Was Corby guilty? There would seem to be little advantage in police or prosecutors setting her up, only a guarantee of an uproar, esp. because she is young and pretty.
    If proof emerges that she was framed, then let’s review the case.

    It’s not a question of her being set up, but whether or not she got a fair trial. Indonesia is not the only place where verdicts are questioned. Maybe she is guilty, but she probably deserves a chance to appeal and present whatever evidence she thinks will exonerate her.

    Or…Indonesian presidents routinely issue clemencies and reduce sentences at various holidays. Whether or not she is guilty, if the government can shorten Abu Bakar Baasyir’s sentence, it can shorten hers.

  11. madrotter says:

    20 years for weed is just absurd but lah, i don’t wanna start that whole discussion again…

    from what i remember there was an australian in prison overthere (australia) who said that he was the one or involved in setting her up and since he was going to do a long bid he was willing to testify (via a video feed) and take the blame but it wasn’t allowed here (indonesia)…

    makes me think about the bali 9, the ones that got caught smuggling heroin OUT of indonesia to australia, that was pretty dirty, the way the aussie cops set ’em up, making sure they were caught in indonesia and not aussie, some of them really were kids, like 17, 18 years old and they got life right? i know 2 of them are on death-row…

    i was in kuta about one and a half months ago and this guy offered us weed, right on the main street around poppies. he was big, fit, a big moustache a leather jacket and so incredibly obvious a cop that i just had to laugh very hard….

  12. madrotter says:

    and by the way:

  13. Shari says:

    I’ve been following the Corby story since the beginning and I am so disgusted and appalled at what the Balinese justice system has done to her (and her family). There is too much doubt in this case for her to be convicted. Look at the drug bust that happened that very day at that very airport that Corby flew out of-and no cameras were working that morning!Come on! Like the luggage handlers didn’t not know that.
    My heart goes to Schappelle Corby. I’m a 33 year old woman from Canada and I could not begin to imagine what she has gone through.
    This could have happened to anybody, and I think a world wide petition should be started and then given to the balinese so called justice department demanding the release of Schappelle Corby. I, for one feel so helpless and I know I’m only one person, but I would do anything I could for her. It is a travesty, a grievous injustice, what has happened to her and could happen to any of us.
    Please, hold on to hope Schappelle. You are a sister to the people in this world, you have so much support behind you, and you are in many, many people’s thoughts, prayers, and hearts. Take a look at the sky and know that one day(hopefully soon!) you will be as free as a bird. This tragedy does not define you, you are better than that. Stay strong!

  14. Suryo Perkoso says:

    @Rob – Any child of mine taking drugs would be sorry for a week, and child of mine found trafficking them would get no sympathy from me.

    And I am afraid I have to add a resounding BOLLOCKS to your comment about the sentence – she is lucky she didn’t face hukum mati, she would have faced that in Singers or Thailand, she got off lightly – would it be so tolerable if the drugs she was hawking ended up in your kids hands? She got caught this time, how many times did she do it before.
    Don’t defend trash Rob – it won’t work

    @Ross “young and pretty” ? I need a pair of those glasses mate.

    @Nev – would you be saying that Australia is in someway proud of this creature? Take the time to review her and her familiy history, it’s quite enlightening as to the sort of person she is – and she was caught this time, how many times before? Plenty of setups go on the world over where police know they have the right person, they just can’t prove it.

    @Ross, yep, tend to agree with that. She knew what she was doing, and all things considered, got away lightly.

    @Madrotter – she was trafficking, what should she have got then, a gold star and a pat on the back? 17 years old is old enough to kill someone in a car, hardly a kid – they were old enough to play big boys games, take the punishment – can’t say it breaks my heart, but then my only vice is alcohol, which for the moment is legal – if my kids were offered drugs by this trash, then I think I would hardly be best pleased. As for dirty – smuggling heroin is dirty – let them enjoy there free Bahasa Bali course. If you want to find out what she has been through so far, then mess with drugs in Asia and get caught – or alternatively…. http://www.schapellecorbytours.com/

  15. Rob says:

    @ SP…

    Maybe I need to adopt a pen name so that I can hide my true identity and then I might too be able to scream bollocks at every opportunity.

    I find it interesting SP that your kid would only be sorry for a week for partaking in drugs. I guess smoking a few joints is not so bad around your household. It would be ironic if one day you had to hang one of your kids out to dry with the “no sympathy from me” line. Not that I wish any ill on you or your family. I have always believed that one should not count their chickens before they hatch, and that compassion is not such a bad sentiment.

    On the tolerable front. I am not sure that I said anything about tolerable. My personal opinion is that 20 years is a harsh sentence. You disagree, but in your disagreement the sum total of your argument for my argument is “bollocks”.

    How many times has she done it before? None! To suggest otherwise is conjecture and speculation on your part.

    As for defending trash, get a grip! I wonder who died and made you the arbiter of who is and who isn’t trash.

  16. Oigal says:

    All Australia will thank you for your effort.

    Probably not (and at least one no..me).

    Although the sentence becomes absurb when you compare it to say Tommys.

    Having said that, I would think her supporters should be more angry at her so called advisors and the media for portraying (or trying to) the Indonesians in such abusive fashion.

    Did anyone really think calling the Judges monkeys prior to sentencing was really can do anything but ensure she was put away for ever. That particular idiot got a one week spike in ratings and ensure the lass had 20 years, nice one b*st*rd.

    Look at the difference between her and the other young model (forget her name) shut up, let people work in the background and the some compromise that lets everyone save face and still see justice done.

  17. Pena Budaya says:

    It is insane for carrying marijuana to get punished 20 years while an actor behind murderer of a judge was only sentenced for 10 years (in the end, we know how many years he served..). I don’t like the way Indonesian law punished these drugs traffickers. I guess it is based on “res ipsa loquitur” view. If this view is accepted within Indonesian law, then perhaps all family victims of those public transport incidents could sue government for what had happend!

    OK, back to Corby..So far I understand that there were some flaws in Corby’s case that the Indonesian police did not do forensic test of the marijuana itself – to check whether Corby’s finger prints were really there or not.

  18. ET says:

    The signs in the airport are clear. Anyone stupid and sombong enough to bring more than 4 kg of marihuana into a country that carries the death penalty for drug smuggling comes off lucky by rotting for 20 years in gaol. Don’t come tell us that the drugs were for private use only.

    It’s typical for a certain western mentality not uncommon ‘down under’ to believe they should be allowed to get away with everything.

  19. Rob says:

    @ ET…

    I believe she is guilty and I believe that she should be punished. Twenty years is a harsh sentence for the crime. This is still so even with the signs posted in Indonesia ports of entry about the seriousness of the punishments meted out for drug smuggling offenses. There is nothing lucky about doing 20 years in jail in Indonesia or anywhere else.

    I am not sure that I have argued that 4.1kgs was for personal use. If any have argued that then they must be pretty serious smokers of the wacky weed.

    It’s typical for a certain western mentality not uncommon ‘down under’ to believe they should be allowed to get away with everything.

    I wonder if this is the same mentality that makes Tommy Soeharto think he has a shot at the big chair in Golkar?

    Perhaps your beef is not with Schapelle Corby, but rather westerners and western mentality and the people from down under.

    It seems though that to suggest that the sentence is harsh makes one an apologist, a Corby lover, or a defender of trash…bollocks, I say!

  20. madrotter says:

    well it is now legal to have weed for personal use in argentina and mexico will follow soon

    anybody remembers, a few years back when a government sanctioned comission, after lots of research advised the indonesian government to just go ahead an legalise it too?
    BECAUSE GRASS DOESN’T DO THE DAMAGE THAT ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO DO…
    how kala said, no that won’t happen but it’s ok if people use it in their food for seasoning (as they do in aceh), how those fpi scumbags said they would burn down government buildings if that would happen…

    one problem is the cops. they’re making crazy money with the situation as it is now, they sell it and then catch the buyers, torture their ass for names and then catch some more folks, blackmailing families into poverty. while they torture folks they play hard house music, dance, smoke joints and chrystalmeth. i know a guy, he was caught selling, they put his whole face full with screws. 3 years ago my dear buddy tim from kenya was caught with a tiny, tiny amount of weed. he had to pay the pigs as usual, but hey, tim was a black dude, so they came back,more money, came back again untill he was broke. when he couldn’t pay again they forced him to drink something. it took tim 3 days to die, we don’t now what they gave him, soon as he was dead they pumped him full with formaldehyde making an autopsy impossible. his dad is the guy that build nairobi airport, his moms does the catering for the UN for the whole of africa, rich folks. they were treated like shit the doctoers didnt even wanna talk to them and they got a deathcertificate that, get this, said tim died of AIDS. i was there the whole time, helped carry his body and after 3 years im still angry as hell. tim just had a beautiful baby-boy and he was strong as a bull, an incredibly talented painter and a great friend, he now lies in a grave thanks to a few f*ckwads that have the nerve to call themselves police… i’ve got tons of stories like these, straight up…

    and who smokes weed in this country anyways? not your average joe cause he can’t pay for it, your average joe is consuming alcohol that isn’t fit to clean stuff with or joe is popping cheap-ass pills that will burn you from the inside out. god i can get angry when it comes to this topic…

  21. Rob says:

    @ Madrotter…

    The Indonesian Supreme Court has issued a circular that directs lower courts to send users to rehabilitation rather than prison. This would not have helped Corby of course. However, it would seem that to a certain degree and for minimal amounts the courts are going to send you to get “clean” rather than to a prison.

    I have written about it here.

  22. Lairedion says:

    Have you ever wondered why nasi padang has a distinctive taste, highly appreciated by most Indonesians? Right.

    Let’s raid Sederhana, Simpang Raya and all the other Padang restaurants countrywide.

  23. Oigal says:

    Have you ever wondered why nasi padang has a distinctive taste, highly appreciated by most Indonesians?

    For real “L”????????

    Dang, and I love the Makan Padang

  24. Lairedion says:

    True although most people will deny this…

  25. madrotter says:

    hey rob, yeah this rule has been in effect for a long time. an american guy i knew here in bandung was caught and he went through all that, it meant he had to spent 2 months in the police station and 2 months in the real jail, when he went in his name was peter when he came out his name was ibrahim and he had a big ass beard, he said that jail was ok but the policestation was hell cause he was sharing his cell with 16 others and the interogation room was right next to it, torture went on for nearly 24 hours a day and he couldnt sleep cause all the screaming. it took forever to get the letter from the doctor to the judge and all in all he had to pay 150.000.000rp. he’s now back home in california and grows medical weed with a licence and calls himself peter again…

    another guy, david, an older english teacher went through the same stuff, we would all chip in some money and bring him food and drinks and stuff, we would fill one liter aquabottles with wodka to make his time more bearable..

    like i said its a business, its got nothing to do with law and order…

    in all honesty, i used to be a pretty big pothead myself, those early years here, say from 1996 to 2000 were wonderful here but since they separated the cops from the army the cops have gone on a real terrorspree here in bandung, many, many dead and maimed people and i won’t touch the stuff or get near to it. i wouldn’t even know how to get it really, all the folks from those days are either dead or gone so those vacations back home to rotterdam are that much sweeter these days….

  26. ET says:

    @ Rob

    Perhaps your beef is not with Schapelle Corby, but rather westerners and western mentality and the people from down under.

    You hit the nail right on the head. My harsh comment isn’t about the weed, which I know is a rather harmless drug, but about this mentality of some ‘folks’ that come to a less developed country to ‘pub crawl’, fck their brains out and generally think they are allowed to do as they please.

  27. Odinius says:

    The issue with Corby is a) whether she got a fair trial and b) whether the Indonesian government decides to let her off early, which is frequently does for criminals. Full stop.

    For a), she should be allowed to appeal her conviction. For b), it’s up to SBY lah.

  28. Andy says:

    Good point Odinius, one thing that stands to mind is the fact that the customs officials didn’t even videotape the baggage search (because they didn’t have any blank tapes with them). This is standard procedure all over the world as it provides the clear evidence needed in court to prove their find and her testimony that she put it in the bag. So it became her word against theirs.

    Also the law in Indonesia is based on the dutch model of over several hundreds of years ago and presumes guilt before innocence. It was obvious all along they wanted to put her away and showed extreme anti bule bias as is evidenced by many soft penalties given for harsher crimes like terrorism and murder etc. The other Australian who had connections and converted to Islam was given a piss ass sentence of something like 8 months and was then let go. Nothing like passing sentences based on your personal rather than legal judgement.

  29. Suryo Perkoso says:

    @ SP…

    Maybe I need to adopt a pen name so that I can hide my true identity and then I might too be able to scream bollocks at every opportunity.

    I find it interesting SP that your kid would only be sorry for a week for partaking in drugs. I guess smoking a few joints is not so bad around your household. It would be ironic if one day you had to hang one of your kids out to dry with the “no sympathy from me” line. Not that I wish any ill on you or your family. I have always believed that one should not count their chickens before they hatch, and that compassion is not such a bad sentiment.

    On the tolerable front. I am not sure that I said anything about tolerable. My personal opinion is that 20 years is a harsh sentence. You disagree, but in your disagreement the sum total of your argument for my argument is “bollocks”.

    How many times has she done it before? None! To suggest otherwise is conjecture and speculation on your part.

    As for defending trash, get a grip! I wonder who died and made you the arbiter of who is and who isn’t trash.

    @Rob, you aren’t in Court now, and you get no points at all for trying to lead the witness. You know very well what I mean about narcotics, perhaps they are something you tolerate or condone, but I’m afraid that I cannot concur. If my children do get in trouble with narcotics then it won’t be because I have ever glorified the subject, whereas, I believe Corby’s father was a dealer?

    You state conclusively that she has never done this before, I’d be interested to see how you are so sure. No proof, possibly, evidence to suggest? load of it.

    http://www.baliblog.com/travel-tips/bali-daily/schapelle-corby-pictured-with-drug-dealer.html

    http://www.topix.com/forum/world/australia/T315S8QREELDU06J0/p10

    You can find loads more if you wish, and as for “trash” – well again, do a quick search as to her past history. Whether you like it or not Rob, I’m entitled to my view regarding Ms Corby, and you are entitled to yours –

    Harsh sentence? possibly, but it was better than 120 grains of copper jacketed lead methinks.

    As for pen name, if you wish to know a little about me, then feel free to PM me, unfortunately the nature of my business precludes me from being too personal, that and I wouldn’t walk around the street with a namecard around my neck, why should I do it on the ‘net? Suggest you address that comment to anyone who uses a screen name – I can think of one blogger who you know well that wishes now that he had kept his provate life just that instead of being Mr Big Shot. One key point here Rob is that your opinion counts for nothing (just as you said that my opinion was valueless) – what matters here is that Corby was convicted and sentenced in accordance with the law, now, without being Judge and jury, whose fault is that?

    @Madrotter – yes, I think it’s quite clear that we won’t agree – to use the well known fact that alcohol and tobacco are harmful to justify your cause is somewhat weak – Do you remember who was lifted in Jakarta about a year back, and do you know what happened to him in the end? Mike Oxblack may have an update on this. Pretty easy not to get caught with weed – don’t carry any, especially where the policies are not so tolerant as the UK. It was tolerated to have weed for personal use in the UK and there has been so much trouble caused by it that it is/will be reclassified as a Class A narcotic. Less face it, you have to be shit-silly to justify the use of tobacco or narcotics – we all know what they do, and none of it is positive. Alcohol of the right flavour and in the right quantities has been claimed to have beneficial quailities – who knows?

    Meanwhile i’ll to continued to not get arrested in a place with hukum mati, by continuing to have nothing to do with narcotics – as for Corby, look on the bright side, the tours are still doing well.

  30. Rob says:

    @ SP…

    Oh dear! I am wondering if I should feel suitably chastized because of your witty response and the links included.

    Nope, not in court. But, then that is not rocket science is it? I thought I was on IM. Who is leading the witness?

    You know very well what I mean about narcotics, perhaps they are something you tolerate or condone, but I’m afraid that I cannot concur.

    I am not sure that I said anything about condoning narcotics or their use, did I?

    Now there is excellent evidence to satisfy the burden in the court of public opinion; Corby’s old man was a drug dealer, she was photographed with a drug dealer,and someone told someone they had seen her with some people smoking joints. I did not say that she was innocent, what I said was that whether se had done it before was speculation and conjecture. But, I guess that point was lost on you.

    You really do need to take a step back. I did not say you were not entitled to your opinion. However, as you have shown, if you have one you should also be prepared to defend it. Hence my initial response to the opinions of yours and particularly the point about defending trash. Whether Corby is trash or not is neither here nor there, the idea that I was defending her was also wrong. I was merely making an opinion known about the process and the severity of the sentence, which you interpreted to be a defense of trash.

    Once again, you really do need to take a step back. I did not say that there were not harsher sentences that could have conceivably be handed down to Corby. What I said was, the 20-year sentence was harsh (in my opinion) in light of the sentences handed down for similar (not exactly the same) types of offenses in Indonesia.

    You do need to get a grip. I did not say your opinions were valueless. You have said that. I wondered openly who made you the arbiter of trash. Totally different thing.

    Maybe you need to read a little more widely and see what I have written about Corby’s guilt and innocence. But, assuming you won’t, here it is in a nutshell.

    Schapelle Corby, like it or not, was caught, charged, tried, and convicted pursuant to Indonesian law. Her family ensured that there was intense public scrutiny of the process which all but ensured that it was fair. Were there issues, there were. But, these issues such as whether there were video tapes from Brisbane or police did fingerprint evidence on the bag of weed or whether the police even tested the weed to verify origin were not sufficient to say that the process was inherently unfair. In Indonesian terms the sentence is not manifestly excessive however that does not mean that it is not harsh for comparable crimes.

    If you want a more thorough analysis of my thoughts on this one, then read my blog.

    I am wondering whether I should interpret the comments on pen names as a threat?

    I am happy with screen names, I understand their value. My point was more about the idea of making outrageous statements of facts and calling people out while hiding behind a pen name. My philosophy has always been if you are willing to make the statement publicly, then you should be equally as willing to want to defend it publicly.

    My comments are always fairly tame in comparison to others. So, it is amusing that you would have taken such offense. After all, “get a grip” is hardly out there on the offensiveness scale.

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