An Australian model accused of possessing ecstasy pills in Indonesia's Bali resort island went on trial and faces lengthy imprisonment if convicted.
Appearing before the Denpasar district court wearing a Muslim veil, Michelle Leslie heard prosecutors accusing her of possessing two ecstasy tablets during a police raid on a party in Bali's Jimbaran area in August.
In their indictment, prosecutors said Leslie had "unlawfully possessed psychotropical drugs" in the form of ecstasy pills.
The trial was adjourned until next Tuesday.
Leslie's lawyer Rizal Akbar said no defense argument would be made in the next court session because Leslie "wants this process to be speedy."
If found guilty she could be jailed for up to 15 years under tough drug laws in Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation.
Leslie said last month she had converted to Islam a year ago and that her new faith had prevented her from going "crazy" in her police cell in predominantly-Hindu Bali.
"It upsets me greatly that people think I am trying to manipulate the system," she said.
"Religion is helping me stay centred in the present moment. You have to find something otherwise your mind just goes crazy."
The 24-year-old, who is of mixed Australian-Philippine descent, had modelled lingerie and swimwear before her arrest.
Leslie is among 12 young Australians facing execution or long prison sentences in Indonesia for drug offences.
to quickly summarise the whole chunk up there. she was a model found in possession of two estacy pills in her GUCCI handbag while she was in bali. (note the caps =x) she converted to islam and appeared in court in traditional muslim attire.she underwent trail and was recently freed on account of haveing served her three month trial already. she arrived in singapore for a stopover and bought a pair of killer heels. she supposedly drank wine too on board the plane to "celebrate".
i cant help but wonder what if she was dealt with in singaporean context. would she be executed or something? now that would be sad. if you read closely enough.. she was a lingerie and swimwear model before! now if she was executed wouldnt that be a total waste of let's say... beauty? i mean just look at her piercing eyes.look at the picture. she was even beautiful in that loose fitting white headscarf and loose clothing. was it because she was beautiful that she was released in a court which was other deemed as having "tough drug laws". was the whole "conversion to islam" thing a scam? to get perhaps a lighter sentence or freedom just after 3 months? i think a australian man was sentenced to death for smuggling drugs into singapore right? he was helping his brother pay off debts or something. now, isnt that more touching? but was he excused?
i dont think so. the singapore government explained that it was neccesary to prevent singapore to be seen as an attractive place for transit or as a base for smuggling drugs. does the indonesian governement have the same stand? if so.. then what explains the easy or somewhat lax release of that model? she appeard in singapore in a singlet and tight jeans , paired with branded sunglasses.. have you even seen "devoted" muslims dress like this? (no offence to muslims, trying to bring out a point here.) there's more than it meets the eye. maybe she'll even go back to modelling in australia. who knows?
on a more lighthearted note, i suppose some of you guys watch the drama serial on channel 8. the rainbow connection? i have watched that show more than i should have.. while i was supposed to be "studying" and etc. you also do the strangest things when you're studying. like reading that book that you hardly touched before the exams. anyway. if you caught last night's episode... about the last five minutes which featured lulu, martin and lulu's childhood friend...
if you havent... it's basically a love triangle.. *obvious* ok. anyway. that childhood friend An or something was asking lulu who had injured her leg to go with him to KL for treatment (original setting was some fishing kampung thing)
martin overheard as he was in the house nearby. he contorted his face and very woodenly came out... mechanically shouted. YOU! SHUT UP! and guess what. his hand popped out like it had some jack-in-the-box mechanism and socked the guy in the guy. so much for acting...
honestly, i liked him in the champion. his acting i mean. he was natural. funny. handsome. yeahh. the works. but after this..
beyond the axis of truth 2, where he acted as someone who had his nerves damaged or something.. he was twitching and really acting spastic.. (not in a bad way)... it was utterly convincing.. his words wasnt even coherent. but well, it was a good ... whatdoyoucallthat.. potrayal.. absolutely...julian hee is the one on the left btw.roy is on the right. my sister is mad about him. haha.
however, julian hee seems to be unable to get out of that potrayal. his actions are weirdly exaggearated (howdoyouspell?!!) and "outofplace-ly" spastic. one closing scene... the one which lulu feel and broke her leg or something and couldnt dance was because of him in a wayy. he kept approaching her and she kept backing away because he lied to her or something again... she fell in one last dramatic swop and hit somewhere with a painful crunch.. and as the camera whirls back to julian...
his face contorted in idontknowwhat! and his hand covered his gaping mouth. GASP! im soooooo shocked.OHMYGOD LULU!
(imagine with eyebrowns raised up opera-style high) gosh. i hope he still wins the best newcomer award.. .
