Four people who were arrested on drug charges in Bali may be facing execution. The case includes both the alleged sellers and would-be buyers, who never even received the drugs.
On September 8, two Thai nationals—Rachanon Jongseeha, 33, and his girlfriend Woranawan Wongsuwan, 31—were arrested at Bali’s airport with what was said to be nearly 2 kg of meth and ecstasy hidden in collagen drink packets. Two Indonesians accused of ordering the drugs were also arrested.
Indonesia is known to have some of the strictest and harshest punishments when it comes to drug offenders in its country. If the four suspects are found guilty, they could all be facing death by firing squad, according to provincial anti-narcotics chief Rudy Ahmad Sudrajat, per ABC News.
The last time Indonesia employed the death penalty was in July 2016, when one Indonesian and three Nigerians convicted of drug charges were executed by firing squad. It was the third set of executions carried out under President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who has focused on foreigners convicted of drug crimes. Widodo remains the leader of the country.
In 2015, after the death penalty was used against seven foreign drug smugglers, including two Australians, Widodo called it a “positive law” and said that it is his duty as the leader “to carry out the law.” At the time, an anti-capital punishment campaigner in Bali told VICE, “In Javanese society smuggling drugs is now seen as the most grave crime, worse than terrorism, murder, or rape.”
The death penalty has existed in Indonesia since the 1940s. The first time it was carried out was in 1973 on a convicted murderer. The first time someone accused of drug trafficking was put to death was in 2004, when Namsong Sirilak and Saelow Prasert, both from Thailand, were executed.
Indonesia isn’t the only country that enforces the death penalty surrounding drug charges. Thailand, Singapore, China, and Iran are among a list of countries that view the offense as warranting death. Malaysia enforced a mandatory death penalty for drug charges but abolished that in 2023.
It’s not always employed in Indonesia, either. ABC News also reported that a Latvian man arrested in July in Indonesia faced a possible life-in-prison sentence for alleged cannabis smuggling, and a Swedish man faces 15 years for supposedly receiving a package of hashish.
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The post Ecstasy-Laced Beauty Drinks Lead 4 People in Bali to Face the Death Penalty appeared first on VICE.
