BALI, Indonesia — A British woman was sentenced to death Tuesday by an Indonesian court after she was caught smuggling $2.5 million worth of cocaine onto the island of Bali.
The woman, Lindsay June Sandiford, 56, had claimed that she was forced to take the drugs into the country by a gang that had threatened to hurt one of her children. Her death sentence came even though prosecutors had only recommended a 15-year sentence.
Investigators said that customs officials found that she brought in 8.4 pounds of cocaine to Bali’s airport, which was hidden in the lining of her travel bag.
Indonesia is known for its tough treatment of people who commit drug offenses and other crimes, having put five foreigners to death in drug cases since 1998, and 40 foreigners are currently on death row for drug and other offenses.
Ms. Sandiford’s alleged accomplice, Anthony Pounder, also of Britain, is expected to be sentenced Wednesday.
In handing down its verdict, a judicial panel at the Denpasar District Court had found that Ms. Sandiford, by ferrying in the drugs, had damaged the image of Bali as a tourism destination and weakened the government’s drug prevention program. “We found no reason to lighten her sentence,” Amser Simanjuntak, who headed the judicial panel, said, according to The Associated Press.
British Woman Sentenced to Death in Bali Drug Case
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British Woman Sentenced to Death in Bali Drug Case
