Geelong Advertiser

Drug mule is set to go free

- CINDY WOCKNER and KOMANG ERVIANI

BALI Nine heroin courier Renae Lawrence, who is getting ready to taste freedom 13 years after her arrest, showcased her Balinese dancing skills yesterday in a special jail ceremony.

Dressed in bright traditiona­l Balinese dress, Lawrence was one of five female prisoners to perform to celebrate the 54th Indonesian Correction­s Day.

Lawrence, wearing a male costume, joined in a Puspanjali welcome dance at a ceremony inside Bali’s narcotics jail in Bangli.

The show came as Lawrence, from Newcastle, revealed her happiness that her sentence, for her role in the Bali Nine heroin smuggling operation, was coming to an end.

Speaking to News Corp during the jail celebratio­ns, Lawrence revealed her regret at her crime but acceptance of her punishment.

But she did not want to comment about this weekend’s third anniversar­y of the execution of her co-accused, Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan by firing squad on April 29, 2015.

Bangli jail’s governor Diding Alpian praised Lawrence, the sole westerner in the small prison.

He said she was a block leader, painted, maintained the garden, made handicraft­s, engaged in Balinese dancing and had helped set up a sanction system for those who littered.

Lawrence was sentenced to 20 years’ jail for her role as a drug courier after being caught at Bali airport with heroin strapped to her body.

She was the only member of the Bali Nine not sentenced to life or death for her role in the heroin smuggling ring, which had tried to traffic 8.2kg of heroin from Bali to Australia.

Her 20-year sentence came in recognitio­n of the assistance she provided to authoritie­s after the arrests.

Following twice-yearly remissions and sentence cuts, Lawrence’s sentence has been slashed to just over 13 years, making her eligible for release next month, pending payment of the $100,000 fine levied at the time of sentence.

But she is understood to have told Indonesian authoritie­s she does not have the cash to pay the fine and will therefore need to serve an extra six months behind bars in lieu of payment.

This would make her eligible for release in about November.

 ??  ?? Renae Lawrence yesterday.
Renae Lawrence yesterday.

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