Bali 9’s Renae accused of guard murder plot
BALI Nine drug courier Renae Lawrence has been accused of plotting to murder a Bali jail guard and has been moved out of Kerobokan Jail.
The dramatic plot, allegedly hatched with another female prisoner, was uncovered when jail authorities discovered phone text messages between Lawrence and the other prisoner during a search of the cells.
The messages were in the phone of the other prisoner, Joaninha Maria Sonia Gonzales, an East Timorese inmate charged with kidnapping a baby from a French family in Bali. She is known as ‘‘Black Sonia’’.
A knife, allegedly to use in the killing, was found on Lawrence’s bed in her cell.
Kerobokan Jail Governor Gusti Ngurah Wiratna told News Ltd of the plot and of his anger that a prisoner whom he trusted and treated like his own daughter had be- trayed him.He has vowed to cancel her last six months of sentence remissions.
Lawrence, who was in hospital on Friday to undergo an appendectomy, was yesterday moved directly from the hospital to a jail in Jembrana, West Bali. The other prisoner was moved to a jail in Gianyar, also in Bali.
The alleged plot came to light when the Governor and authorities were in the women’s block investigating claims of a drug party amongst women prisoners after photographs of prisoners tak- ing drugs surfaced in a local paper. Mr Wiratna said he was checking to see if the photo had been taken in the women’s block.
‘‘ In the mobile phone, I found a chat between Sonia and Renae. They were planning to murder our friend, a woman guard. On the chat, Renae told Sonia to kill the guard because they hate her.
‘‘On the chat, Renae also said that she had prepared a knife for Sonia, to use on killing the guard.
‘‘When we check to Renae’s room, we find a knife on her bed,’’ Mr Wiratna said. Renae was given 6 months of remission on Indonesian Independence day this year.
‘‘I used to trust her to manage the women’s block. But now she wants to kill our friend,’’ Mr Wiratna said.
‘‘When she was sick, I treated her like my daughter. I contacted her family, and gave her a permit to be treated in hospital. She has really disappointed me.’’
Lawrence, the only female of the Bali Nine, received the lowest sentence, 20 years, after helping authorities.