DENPASAR – A former Australian airline executive convicted in Bali of drugs use is awaiting news of whether Indonesian authorities will order his deportation.
Barry Hess, 50, has asked authorities to let him stay in Indonesia after serving a short sentence.
Lawyer Mohammad Hussein said, “Usually, convicted criminals are deported to their own country and blacklisted from entering Indonesia again. But we are still negotiating whether Barry can stay here.”
Authorities have been asked to consider the fact that Hess has lived in Indonesia for many years, and has a local business and partner in Bali.
Hess is believed to be in a holding cell near Bali airport while awaiting a decision on his fate.
Hess was arrested in August after police discovered 14.4 grams of hashish and 2.7 grams of marijuana in his Kuta home.
The Denpasar District Court cleared him of drug trafficking and instead found him guilty of being a drug addict who had not reported himself to authorities to undergo rehabilitation.
Hess, who has a furniture exporting business in Bali, was formerly general manager of the now collapsed Bali airline, Air Paradise, and was previously an executive with Ansett.
