October
8, 2004: Schapelle Corby is arrested
at Denpasar Airport after
Customs officers found 4.1 kilograms of marijuana in her bodyboard bag.
Corby had flown to Bali from Brisbane, via Sydney, with some friends
and a family member.
October
13, 2004: Corby is paraded in front of
the media, protesting
her innocence. She tells Channel Nine she had the shock of her life
when she saw the drugs in her bag in Bali. If convicted, Corby could
face the death penalty or life in prison and a $150,000 fine.
January
28, 2005: Corby's trial begins.
Prosecutors tell the court Corby said the marijuana was hers. This is either a misunderstanding
due to the Language Barrier or a DELIBERATE LIE on behalf of the
Customs Officer. (Either way he will not loose face by changing
his statement later)
And THIS is the MAIN EVIDENCE that the Judges use to convict her later.
February
4, 2005: The 27-year-old denies
admitting the drugs were hers.
February
25, 2005: Gold Coast businessman, Ron
Bakir, offers to help
Corby with financial backing needed to defend the charges. Mr Bakir and
Gold Coast lawyer Robin Tampoe travel to the Indonesian island to meet
Corby's legal team.
March
24, 2005: Corby gives evidence in her
own defence. She tells the
court she has no idea how the marijuana came to be in her luggage.
April
14, 2005: Corby collapses in court; her
sister blames the ever-present media pack for contributing to her
stress.
April
21, 2005: Prosecutors ask for life
sentence if Corby is
convicted; this is seen as a reprieve because the offence carries a
maximum penalty of death.
April
28, 2005: Corby delivers an impassioned
plea to the judges,
protesting her innocence. The speech fails to make an impact; even
after the statement is translated to the chief judge, Linton Sirait, he
says it does not prove her innocence.
April
29, 2005: John
Patrick Ford, who has
been remanded in prison to
face charges in Victoria, tells the court in Denpasar he overheard
prisoners talking about a stash of marijuana that was lost while being
smuggled by baggage handlers. In a separate development, Chief judge
Linton Sirait sentences a South African man to life imprisonment, for
being caught with 1 kilogram of heroin.
May
6, 2005: It is revealed that John ford,
the accused rapist who gave
evidence in the Corby trial, was stabbed in prison. Corby's lawyers say
this strengthens his claims that he heard other prisoners discussing
the planting of drugs in Corby's bag.
May
8, 2005: The Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade confirms a man
rang the Australian consulate in Bali in 1997, when he found a package
of marijuana in his bag after flying in from Melbourne. DFAT told the
man one of his options was to flush the drugs down the toilet. In a
separate development, the head of the Balinese drug squad says he sees
some weaknesses in the case against Schapelle Corby. Colonel Bambang
Sugiarto tells Channel Nine the lack of video footage at Denpasar
Airport, and problems with fingerprinting, have impeded the
prosecution's case.
May
12, 2005: Australian Federal Police (AFP)
Commissioner Mick Keelty
questions Corby's defence about the involvement of baggage handlers and
plays down evidence by Victorian prisoner John Ford as unsubstantiated.
The Law Council of Australia says Mr Keelty acted dangerously in
commenting publicly on the case. The court in Denpasar is told that
Corby flew to Bali on the same day that Sydney baggage handlers are
alleged to have trafficked cocaine through the airport.
May
13, 2005: The chief judge says allegations
that Sydney baggage
handlers were involved in drug trafficking will have no effect on the
Corby case.
May
15, 2005: The Prime Minister John Howard
says the Government has
provided a letter to Corby's lawyers, outlining allegations that Qantas
baggage handlers in Sydney have been involved in drug trafficking.
Corby's lawyers say the letter does not go far enough. Mr Howard says
he feels for Corby, but the Government cannot interfere in Indonesia's
legal system. The chief judge in Denpasar rejects the letter as
irrelevant.
May
17, 2005: Indonesian Embassy in Canberra
confirms it has been
receiving death threats in relation to the Schapelle Corby drug case.
May
22, 2005: Corby writes to Indonesian
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
May
25, 2005: Australian Justice Minister
Chris Ellison says the
Government is looking at formulating a one-off prisoner exchange
agreement for Corby if she is found guilty.
May
27, 2005: Corby found guilty by a Bali
court of importing a
narcotic into Indonesia, sentenced to 20 years in jail and fined
$13,875.
