An Australian man and a British former war correspondent arrested for possessing hashish in Bali last October are drug abusers who should be treated at a narcotics prison, the Denpasar District Court has been told.
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Giuseppe Serafino, 48, and David Matthew Fox, 54, faced court on Thursday for the first time since their arrest last October in the tourist precinct of Sanur with 7.32 grams and 9.83 grams of hashish respectively.
The court heard that Mr Serafino used hashish to cope with back pain caused by a cyst on his kidney while Mr Fox, a former correspondent for the Reuters news agency, had used hashish for 30 years after being so traumatised by his experiences covering wars that he couldn't sleep.
A Bali province assessment team found the men had abused drugs but were not addicts or distributors, according to the indictment read in court.
It was recommended they be given a more comprehensive psychological evaluation and medical therapy at Bangli narcotics prison in Bali.
The two men are being tried separately.
However they both face a charge of possessing category one narcotics, which carries a maximum penalty of 12 years' jail, or the lesser charge of possessing narcotics for personal use, which carries a maximum sentence of four years' jail.
The court heard Mr Serafino, who was originally from Western Australia but had lived in Bali for some time, was arrested at midday on October 8 last year after the hashish was found in a black suitcase in his home in the seaside tourist precinct of Sanur.
He said he had bought the hashish for 3 million Rupiah (about $300) from a man he didn't know at a McDonald's restaurant in Sanur.
The court heard Mr Serafino had begun using hashish about nine years ago in Australia after learning about it on the internet.
"He used it with the intention of relieving back pain caused by a cyst in his kidney and to increase his appetite," the indictment said.
It said Mr Serafino preferred to use hashish rather than medication prescribed by his doctor because it caused an emotional imbalance.
"After consuming hashish, his back pain reduces, he can sleep well and his appetite increases."
The last day he had used hashish was one day before his arrest.
After Mr Serafino was arrested, police asked him to set up a sting and call Mr Fox and ask if he had hashish. Mr Fox replied in the affirmative and the two men agreed to meet at a bar.
However it was two police officers who turned up at the bar.
Mr Fox had hashish in aluminium foil and admitted to the police officers he had more at his home inside a boxing glove.
He said he had bought the hashish from a man named Gordon, who is yet to be arrested, on October 3 for three million Rupiah (about $300).
Mr Serafino's lawyer, Desi Widyantari, said the indictment had acknowledged the reasons for her client's drug history and she hoped he would be charged with the lesser offence.
She said Mr Serafino had several diseases, kidney pain and back pain. "Actually this is the reason he used hashish to replace his painkiller prescription," she said.
"We want to expedite the whole process so decided not to file any objection," Ms Widyantari said.
"We will try for rehabilitation because he really is an addict."
Ms Widyantari also represented Australian teenager Jamie Murphy, who was released last November after Bali's police chief confirmed the white powder allegedly discovered on the teen was not an illicit drug.
