Ghostwriter
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10k Posts
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North Melbourne - 2014 Daw, Black, Gibson Player Sponsor
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- Joined
- Aug 20, 2002
- Posts
- 16,990
- Reaction score
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Sad tale this one,
'It's better than being shot I suppose'
February 15, 2006 - 6:53PM
Matthew Norman is only 19 years old. Today he heard that he would spend the rest of life behind the bars of a foreign and overcrowded prison.
The youngest member of the Bali Nine came to the Denpasar District Court with his head newly shaved.
Agitated and handcuffed, he vaulted out of a prison bus, broke clear of his two guards and shoulder-charged a photographer. He dodged a media scrum as he ran to a holding cell at the rear of the complex.
It was as if the walls and bars that imprisoned him had become a sanctuary.
His two co-accused, fellow Sydney man Si Yi Chen and Brisbane man Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, were less ruffled as they were led in.
Later in a courtroom the three looked forlorn and resigned as a lengthy verdict statement was read out.
They looked puzzled as their court-appointed interpreter failed to translate huge chunks of dialogue from the three judges.
Sitting between Norman and Chen, the translator was reprimanded early on by the court for not doing her job properly.
But as the judge's statement dragged on, it seemed to make little difference.
The trio nudged her now and again and pleaded for information about the death-and-life decision.
Then the verdict of guilty and the sentence of life in prison for all three was handed down.
As the enormity sank in, they briefly huddled with their lawyer Rifan Mohamad before they were led from the court.
Norman looked over his shoulder. He searched for the comforting face of his mother, Robyn Davies, but had no chance to speak with her.
The three were bundled through a back door and straight into a prison van to return to Kerobokan Jail.
Davies later said the sentence was no surprise, and better than the alternative.
"It's better than being shot I suppose," she said.
She would visit the jail later and tell him to "keep your chin up, your family's with you 100 per cent."
She's also considering moving to Bali permanently to look after him, knowing that most inmates rely on food and care supplied by loved ones on the outside.
Nguyen's only support came from sister Vanessa, who kept her emotions under guard.
The loneliest figure was Chen, an only child, who had no relatives or friends to support him. AAP
Sad last sentence.
'It's better than being shot I suppose'
February 15, 2006 - 6:53PM
Matthew Norman is only 19 years old. Today he heard that he would spend the rest of life behind the bars of a foreign and overcrowded prison.
The youngest member of the Bali Nine came to the Denpasar District Court with his head newly shaved.
Agitated and handcuffed, he vaulted out of a prison bus, broke clear of his two guards and shoulder-charged a photographer. He dodged a media scrum as he ran to a holding cell at the rear of the complex.
It was as if the walls and bars that imprisoned him had become a sanctuary.
His two co-accused, fellow Sydney man Si Yi Chen and Brisbane man Tan Duc Thanh Nguyen, were less ruffled as they were led in.
Later in a courtroom the three looked forlorn and resigned as a lengthy verdict statement was read out.
They looked puzzled as their court-appointed interpreter failed to translate huge chunks of dialogue from the three judges.
Sitting between Norman and Chen, the translator was reprimanded early on by the court for not doing her job properly.
But as the judge's statement dragged on, it seemed to make little difference.
The trio nudged her now and again and pleaded for information about the death-and-life decision.
Then the verdict of guilty and the sentence of life in prison for all three was handed down.
As the enormity sank in, they briefly huddled with their lawyer Rifan Mohamad before they were led from the court.
Norman looked over his shoulder. He searched for the comforting face of his mother, Robyn Davies, but had no chance to speak with her.
The three were bundled through a back door and straight into a prison van to return to Kerobokan Jail.
Davies later said the sentence was no surprise, and better than the alternative.
"It's better than being shot I suppose," she said.
She would visit the jail later and tell him to "keep your chin up, your family's with you 100 per cent."
She's also considering moving to Bali permanently to look after him, knowing that most inmates rely on food and care supplied by loved ones on the outside.
Nguyen's only support came from sister Vanessa, who kept her emotions under guard.
The loneliest figure was Chen, an only child, who had no relatives or friends to support him. AAP
Sad last sentence.
