There has been a major update in the case of a British man who was facing the death penalty in Bali.
Earlier this year, Thomas Parker from Cumbria was charged with drug trafficking which, if found guilty, could have led to him facing execution by firing squad.
The 32-year-old had been arrested on 21 January at a villa near to a popular tourist spot after officers said he was ‘acting suspiciously’.
Police alleged the Brit had collected a package containing drugs form a motorbike taxi drive nearby but had thrown it away and fled the scene when they approached him.
Parker was then traced back to the villa with a lab test confirming this package contained just over one kilogram of MDMA.
As this case has developed, the drug trafficking charge has now been dropped.
Instead, the man has been given the less serious offence of hiding information from authorities after investigators determined that the package was not directly linked to him.
This comes as during the police investigation, Parker managed to prove that he did not order the package.
It had been sent by a friend who is a drug dealer, identified only as Nicky.
The Brit had known them for around two years and communicated with them regularly through the messaging app, Telegram.
Parker had been told someone would pick up the package from him shortly and he had not been promised money or anything else by Nicky in return.
His trial started last month at the Denpasar District Court and he had told the court he initially refused to collect it. However, as Nicky told him it was safe and wouldn’t put him in any danger, he agreed to do it.
Indonesia (which Bali is a province of) notoriously has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by a firing squad.
But luckily for Parker, judges decided to reduce his penalty.
Prosecutors sought a one-year prison term for him, but this was taken down to 10 months with the trafficking offences dropped.
This decision was made as judges said he regretted his acts, had not been previously convicted and promised to reform. It was also ordered that the time he has served since the arrest would be deducted from his sentence.
So, Parker will be free in several months and said he would not appeal the verdict.
Prosecutors have a week to decide whether or not to accept this as the Brit said: “I really, really regret everything that has happened.
“I am sorry and will follow the judge’s decision.”