JAKARTA - The airport authorities in Bali have arrested a Singaporean for drug possession, the second bust involving a Singapore citizen at the holiday hot spot in the past month.
The suspect, identified as Goh Thiam Ann Desmond, was caught with 1.47g of methamphetamine and two ecstasy pills when he arrived at Bali's Ngurah Rai International Airport on Monday (Oct 3) night.
The illicit drugs were placed in two separate plastic sachets kept in a black wallet, Mr Budi Harjanto, the head of the airport's customs and excise office, told a press conference on Tuesday (Oct 4).
Goh is said to be an air cabin crew member, but the authorities did not reveal which airline he works for because he was on holiday when he was arrested.
"We did a body search and we found the drugs in his wallet," said Mr Budi. "(Goh) planned to spend a week of vacation in Bali and consume the drugs himself."
Mr Budi also said Goh had bought the drugs in Singapore and used some of it there.
The 42-year-old now faces a fine and a five- to 15-year jail term if found guilty of drug offences, said Mr Budi.
Last month, a Singaporean working illegally as a deejay was arrested for drug trafficking in Bali.
At the time, Indonesian anti-drug officials said Muhammad Faliq Nordin, 32, was nabbed during a sting operation on Sept 10, after he picked up two packages at a post office in Denpasar, Bali's capital.
The packages, which arrived separately from the Netherlands on Aug 29 and Sept 9, contained a total of 100.2g of methamphetamine, better known by its street name, crystal meth, and 30.3g of cocaine.
The drugs had an estimated street value of 225 million rupiah (S$23,300), according to Mr Syarif Hidayat, who heads the Customs and excise office for Bali, Nusa Tenggara Barat and Nusa Tenggara Timur.
Bali provincial police spokesman Anak Agung Made Sudana said Faliq was the first Singaporean to be arrested for drug-related offences in the popular island resort.
Indonesian law differentiates between a drug user, courier and dealer, with the latter typically receiving the maximum death sentence if found guilty.
The amount of drugs seized during Goh's and Faliq's arrest does not carry the death sentence. Indonesia has a tough anti-drugs policy and the Joko Widodo government has stepped up executions of drug convicts, including several foreigners, in recent years.
