Si Yi Chen
Encyclopedia
Si Yi Chen an Australian citizen, was convicted in Indonesia
for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine
. In 2005, Chen was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta
together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment
. His appeal
to the Indonesian Supreme Court
to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006. A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court, following a full confession by Chen to his role in the plan to import heroin from Bali to Australia, resulted in the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated.
in Sydney, was connected to the fellow members of the Bali Nine. According to media reports, acting on behalf of Myuran Sukumaran
, on 5 April 2005 Chen handed Renae Lawrence
A$
500 at a Sydney hotel representing spending money for Lawrence's trip to Bali. On or about 8 April 2005, Chen arrived in Bali with Matthew Norman
and checked into the White Rose Hotel. It was reported that Chen and Norman "hardly ever left their room".
On 14 April, Chen, Norman, Lawrence and Martin Stephens
checked in to Adhi Dharma hotel, with Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen
arriving in the same hotel two days later. It was reported that police took the room next to Chen and Norman. In the evening of Sunday 17 April, appearing like tourists, Nguyen, Chen and Norman checked into the Melasti Hotel. Sukumaran, who was also with them, with his bags, left them with the others as he decided to go to the Hard Rock Hotel complex.
Earlier that day at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar
, Indonesian police also arrested the following drug mules
after they were found carrying various amounts of heroin concealled on their bodies. Martin Stephens was found to be carrying 3.3 kg (7.3 lb); Renae Lawrence was found to be carrying 2.689 kg (5.9 lb); Michael Czugaj
was found to be carrying 1.75 kg (3.9 lb) and Scott Rush
was found to be carrying 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) of heroin. Alleged co-ringleader, Andrew Chan
was also arrested the same day whilst seated on an Australian Airlines
flight waiting to depart Denpasar for Sydney. At the time Chan was arrested, he was carrying three mobile phones and a boarding pass. No drugs were found in his possession.
Two weeks after leaving Australia, Chen's father reported him missing to Australian police and had no idea he was abroad; saying:
(AFP) prior to the commission of the offence, fearing his son was travelling to Bali and would commit a drug-related crime. Rush senior claims then to have received assurances from the AFP that they would tell his son he was under surveillance
to dissuade him from going through with the crime before the group's departure from Indonesia. Scott Rush's lawyers said he was never contacted. It was revealed that the AFP alerted Indonesian police that a crime was to be committed approximately two weeks before the arrests, and had commenced an investigation about ten weeks prior to the arrests. When the Bali Nine were arrested, the news of the tipoff became public and there was criticism of the role of the AFP in protecting the interests of Australian citizens. Commenting on the matter at the time, AFP Commissioner
Mick Keelty
was reported as saying:
Rush took action in the Federal Court of Australia
against the AFP for breach of the bilateral treaty
between Indonesia and Australia when information was handed by the AFP to the Indonesians. Rush's case claimed that such information should only be released by the Attorney-General. However, the Commonwealth Government maintained that the treaty only applies after a suspect is charged. The application was dismissed by the Federal Court in January 2006.
, The Melasti Three, were tried together, with the remaining six defendants tried separately. During the trial it was reported that Chen denied any involvement in the alleged drug trafficking operation. Chen was quiet throughout proceedings and at times could barely be heard by panel judges.
In December 2005, it was reported that tensions were building between between the Bali Nine drug mules and Sukumaran and Chan. Several days later, lawyers acting for some members of the Bali Nine initially sought the support of the Director of Public Prosecutions to intervene and lay charges for conspiracy to import drugs, so that the nine could be extradited and charged under Australian law. However, the judges hearing the trial matters in Bali called for Australia not to intervene in Indonesia's right to impose capital punishment;. Lawyers acting for Stephens, one of the Bali Nine, claimed that the fairness of his trial was in jeopardy following comments made in the media by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda
that Australians should be prepared for members of the Bali Nine to receive a death sentence, if found guilty.
During his final plea on 2 February 2006, Chen said:
On 15 February 2006 Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment. Commenting on the sentences at the time, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Keelty stated:
Australian Prime Minister
John Howard
was reported as commenting:
A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered on 6 September 2006 a shock when the death penalty was imposed on Chen, Nguyen, and Norman. Following a full confession by Chen during a subsequent appeal for leniency, the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated with some media reports that the Melasti Three could be released before 2020, subject to good behaviour.
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine
Bali Nine
The Bali Nine is the name given to a group of nine Australians arrested on 17 April 2005, in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, in a plan to smuggle of heroin valued at approximately A$4 million from Indonesia to Australia...
. In 2005, Chen was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta
Kuta
Kuta is administratively a district and subdistrict/village in southern Bali, Indonesia. A former fishing village, it was one of the first towns on Bali to see substantial tourist development, and as a beach resort remains one of Indonesia's major tourist destinations...
together with three others. Police uncovered 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial, on 15 February 2006 Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. His appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
to the Indonesian Supreme Court
Indonesian Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Indonesia is the independent judicial arm of the state. It maintains a system of courts and sits above the other courts and is the final court of appeal. It can also reexamine cases if new evidence emerges.-Jurisdiction:...
to have the sentence reduced suffered a shock when the Supreme Court imposed the death penalty on 6 September 2006. A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court, following a full confession by Chen to his role in the plan to import heroin from Bali to Australia, resulted in the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated.
Alleged trafficking conspiracy
It is unclear how Chen, aged 20 years, from DoonsideDoonside, New South Wales
Doonside is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Doonside is located 40 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western Sydney region. Featherdale Wildlife Park and the...
in Sydney, was connected to the fellow members of the Bali Nine. According to media reports, acting on behalf of Myuran Sukumaran
Myuran Sukumaran
Myuran Sukumaran Myuran Sukumaran Myuran Sukumaran (Tamil: (மயூரன் சுகுமாரன்) (born 17 April 1981 in London, England) is an Australian who was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Sukumaran was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta with three...
, on 5 April 2005 Chen handed Renae Lawrence
Renae Lawrence
Renae Lawrence , an Australian former hospitality worker and panel beater, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, on her third trip to Bali, Lawrence was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with of heroin concealed on her body...
A$
Australian dollar
The Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
500 at a Sydney hotel representing spending money for Lawrence's trip to Bali. On or about 8 April 2005, Chen arrived in Bali with Matthew Norman
Matthew Norman
Matthew James Norman , an Australian citizen, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Norman was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta together with three others. Police uncovered of heroin in a suitcase in the room. After a criminal trial,...
and checked into the White Rose Hotel. It was reported that Chen and Norman "hardly ever left their room".
On 14 April, Chen, Norman, Lawrence and Martin Stephens
Martin Stephens
Martin Eric Stephens , an Australian former bartender, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, on his first trip to Bali, Stephens was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with of heroin taped to his chest and concealed under his...
checked in to Adhi Dharma hotel, with Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen
Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen , a Vietnamese–Australian citizen, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Nguyen was arrested in a room at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta together with three others. Police uncovered of heroin in a suitcase in the room...
arriving in the same hotel two days later. It was reported that police took the room next to Chen and Norman. In the evening of Sunday 17 April, appearing like tourists, Nguyen, Chen and Norman checked into the Melasti Hotel. Sukumaran, who was also with them, with his bags, left them with the others as he decided to go to the Hard Rock Hotel complex.
Arrest in Indonesia
Approximately 20 minutes after checking in, Chen was arrested at the Melasti Hotel in Kuta on 17 April 2005 with Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, Myuran Sukumaran and Matthew Norman. Indonesian police claim the group were in possession of 334 g (11.8 oz) of heroin and bundles of plastic wrapping, Elastoplast tape, and a set of scales, indicating involvement in a plan to transport drugs to Australia.Earlier that day at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar
Denpasar
Denpasar is the capital city of the province of Bali, Indonesia. It has a rapidly expanding population of 788,445 in 2010, up from 533,252 in the previous decade. It is located at .-History:...
, Indonesian police also arrested the following drug mules
Mule (smuggling)
A mule or courier is someone who smuggles something with him or her across a national border, including bringing in to and out of an international plane, especially a small amount, transported for a smuggling organization. The organizers employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught...
after they were found carrying various amounts of heroin concealled on their bodies. Martin Stephens was found to be carrying 3.3 kg (7.3 lb); Renae Lawrence was found to be carrying 2.689 kg (5.9 lb); Michael Czugaj
Michael Czugaj
Michael William Czugaj , an Australian former glazier from Oxley, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Czugaj was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with of heroin concealed on his body...
was found to be carrying 1.75 kg (3.9 lb) and Scott Rush
Scott Rush
Scott Anthony Rush , an Australian former labourer, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, on his first trip to Bali, Rush was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar with of heroin concealed on his body. After a criminal trial, on...
was found to be carrying 1.3 kg (2.9 lb) of heroin. Alleged co-ringleader, Andrew Chan
Andrew Chan
Andrew Chan , an Australian citizen, was convicted in Indonesia for drug trafficking as a member of the Bali Nine. In 2005, Chan was arrested at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar...
was also arrested the same day whilst seated on an Australian Airlines
Australian Airlines
Australian Airlines was a full-service airline based in Australia, servicing Australian and Asian destinations between 2002 and 2006. It was an all-economy, full-service international leisure carrier and was a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, although run independently of the mainline carrier...
flight waiting to depart Denpasar for Sydney. At the time Chan was arrested, he was carrying three mobile phones and a boarding pass. No drugs were found in his possession.
Two weeks after leaving Australia, Chen's father reported him missing to Australian police and had no idea he was abroad; saying:
- "I didn't see him for two weeks. I never knew he was overseas. I am very surprised to hear this news."
Criticisms of Australian Federal Police tipoff
Lee Rush, the father of Scott Rush, a fellow member of the Bali Nine, said that he contacted the Australian Federal PoliceAustralian Federal Police
The Australian Federal Police is the federal police agency of the Commonwealth of Australia. Although the AFP was created by the amalgamation in 1979 of three Commonwealth law enforcement agencies, it traces its history from Commonwealth law enforcement agencies dating back to the federation of...
(AFP) prior to the commission of the offence, fearing his son was travelling to Bali and would commit a drug-related crime. Rush senior claims then to have received assurances from the AFP that they would tell his son he was under surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...
to dissuade him from going through with the crime before the group's departure from Indonesia. Scott Rush's lawyers said he was never contacted. It was revealed that the AFP alerted Indonesian police that a crime was to be committed approximately two weeks before the arrests, and had commenced an investigation about ten weeks prior to the arrests. When the Bali Nine were arrested, the news of the tipoff became public and there was criticism of the role of the AFP in protecting the interests of Australian citizens. Commenting on the matter at the time, AFP Commissioner
Police commissioner
Commissioner is a senior rank used in many police forces and may be rendered Police Commissioner or Commissioner of Police. In some organizations, the commissioner is a political appointee, and may or may not actually be a professional police officer. In these circumstances, there is often a...
Mick Keelty
Mick Keelty
Michael Joseph "Mick" Keelty AO APM , Australian police officer, was the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police from 2001 to 2009...
was reported as saying:
- "One of the things we've got to remember is that we operate within our criminal-justice system here in Australia, and if we only co-operated with countries that had the same criminal-justice system, then our co-operation wouldn't extend very far beyond Australia. We have to work with the systems that operate in other countries, and to a large degree this has been successful, certainly in terms of heroin trafficking."
Rush took action in the Federal Court of Australia
Federal Court of Australia
The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law , along with some summary criminal matters. Cases are heard at first instance by single Judges...
against the AFP for breach of the bilateral treaty
Bilateral treaty
A bilateral treaty is a treaty strictly between two state parties. These two parties can be two states, or two international organizations, or one state and one international organization.It is similar to a contract, so it is called contractual treaty....
between Indonesia and Australia when information was handed by the AFP to the Indonesians. Rush's case claimed that such information should only be released by the Attorney-General. However, the Commonwealth Government maintained that the treaty only applies after a suspect is charged. The application was dismissed by the Federal Court in January 2006.
Criminal trial
Criminal trials for the accused commenced in the Denpasar District Court on 11 October 2005. Chen, Nguyen, and Norman, all arrested at the Melasti Hotel and earning the numeric epithetEpithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
, The Melasti Three, were tried together, with the remaining six defendants tried separately. During the trial it was reported that Chen denied any involvement in the alleged drug trafficking operation. Chen was quiet throughout proceedings and at times could barely be heard by panel judges.
In December 2005, it was reported that tensions were building between between the Bali Nine drug mules and Sukumaran and Chan. Several days later, lawyers acting for some members of the Bali Nine initially sought the support of the Director of Public Prosecutions to intervene and lay charges for conspiracy to import drugs, so that the nine could be extradited and charged under Australian law. However, the judges hearing the trial matters in Bali called for Australia not to intervene in Indonesia's right to impose capital punishment;. Lawyers acting for Stephens, one of the Bali Nine, claimed that the fairness of his trial was in jeopardy following comments made in the media by Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda
Hassan Wirajuda
Nur Hassan Wirajuda was the foreign minister of Indonesia from 2001 to 2009. Her serves under presidencies of Megawati Sukarnoputri andSusilo Bambang Yudhoyono- Educations :...
that Australians should be prepared for members of the Bali Nine to receive a death sentence, if found guilty.
Sentencing and appeal
In pre-sentence proceedings, Chen's father, Edward Chen, was reported as saying:- "If he has a chance to be saved, the judges could give him a light sentence and a chance to do good things.... I don't think he's guilty."
During his final plea on 2 February 2006, Chen said:
- "I believe I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. My intention was to come to Bali for a holiday. I appeal to you to be merciful and give me a more lenient sentence. I don't want to spend the rest of my life in prison away from my family and friends for being in the wrong place at the wrong time".
On 15 February 2006 Chen was sentenced to life imprisonment. Commenting on the sentences at the time, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Keelty stated:
- "I stand by the police and what they've done … The Federal Court actually made a decision saying not only had they acted lawfully but they acted in accordance with government policy."
Australian Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
John Howard
John Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
was reported as commenting:
- "The police are there to protect us from the ravages of drugs and I just hope that every young Australian who might in their wildest imagination think that they can get away with this will take a lesson from this" and "I feel desperately sorry for the parents of these people. I do. All of us as parents will feel that way, but the warnings have been there for decades."
A subsequent appeal to the Indonesian Supreme Court to have the sentence reduced suffered on 6 September 2006 a shock when the death penalty was imposed on Chen, Nguyen, and Norman. Following a full confession by Chen during a subsequent appeal for leniency, the original sentence of life imprisonment being reinstated with some media reports that the Melasti Three could be released before 2020, subject to good behaviour.