Latest news with #KutaBeach
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Bali bomb maker sparks outrage with new business venture: 'I was known for hurting the world, but now I choose another way'
The chief explosive maker in the 2002 Bali bombings that killed more than 200 people - including 88 Australians - has launched a new business after his early release from prison. Convicted terrorist Umar Patek, who helped build the devastating car bomb that was positioned outside two nighspots in the tourist hub of Kuta Beach, was released from jail in 2022. Having been released after serving 11 years of a 20-year sentence, Patek uses his part in the deadly attacks as part of his marketing for a new coffee roasting business. 'I was known for hurting the world, but now I choose another way,' he said in a video posted on the company's social media. 'The bitter taste used to destroy, now the bitterness heals. 'It's not just coffee, its change, choosing a new life.' The move has angered loved ones including Sandra Thompson who lost her son Clint Thompson. The promising rugby league player was a president of the Coogee Dolphins rugby squad that was caught up in the bombings while on an end-of-season trip. Six of them never came home. 'Has this man repented? Does he still think what he did was morally right? Or has he just served a sentence then moved on?' his mother Sandra Thompson told China Today. 'Two hundred and two lives plus an unborn baby and survivors still living with the effects of their injuries. Has he paid for that? Never, if he has no remorse.' Ms Thompson says she cannot forgive the atrocities of that day. 'I thought I had forgiven, then another one is allowed to live a normal life,' she said. 'A life he took from all those families. My life has never been the same.' Once the world's most wanted men, Patek left Bali just before the attacks and spent nine years on the run across Indonesia, the Philippines and Pakistan. He was released despite strong objections by Australia and a plea to the Indonesian government to make him serve his full sentence. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described him as 'abhorrent' and said his release would cause further distress those Australians who endured the trauma of the bombings Indonesian authorities have said Patek was successfully reformed in prison and they will use him to influence other militants to turn away from terrorism. Australian Jan Laczynski, who lost five friends in the bombings, spoke of his anger after Pateks early release. 'This guy gets his life back again. For a lot of us we'll never get our lives back again,' he said at the time. 'It's appalling. It's dreadful. It's wrong.' 'I've seen him in jail, I've seen him close up. He didn't seem de-radicalised to me.... I don't buy that at all.' Patek claims he initially struggled to find work due to his past as 'no one wanted to hire a convicted criminal'. However, after mentioning his desire to own a business in an interview with Indonesian media the owner of Hedon Estate restaurant reached out. 'I was donated the equipment that I needed to make the coffee and they said they would stock my products in the cafe,' he said. 'I thought it was so humanitarian of them to help me, particularly as the owner of the cafe is not Muslim. I hope that my new business will be a success and I will be able to be independent again.' The launch of his new coffee beans is planned for Tuesday in a small cafe in Surabaya in East Java around 400km from Bali. Patek said his brand's name Ramu is both a reversal of his own first name and a word which also means 'to concoct' in Bahasa Indonesia. He also addressed the backlash around his supposed reformation and release. 'If I apologise, people say that I am pretending and being strategic,' he said. 'If I don't apologise people will say I am arrogant and don't care. So everything is always wrong. 'This is not just about coffee. It is about change. It is about me choosing a new life.' The Bali boming attackers targeted a busy tourist strip on a Saturday night. The first explosion at Kuta was caused by a suicide bomber in Paddy's bar and the second by a bomb in a van parked outside the Sari Club. The victims were citizens of more than 20 countries, with Australia suffering the largest loss of life. Thirty-nine Indonesians, including many who worked in the tourism industry, also died. Hundreds more people were wounded.
Sky News
27-05-2025
- General
- Sky News
British man jailed for drug offence in Bali after death penalty charge dropped
A British man has been jailed in Bali for drug offences - and has been spared the death penalty. A court on the Indonesian island sentenced Thomas Parker, from Cumbria, to 10 months in jail on Tuesday. He was spared the death penalty after a charge that could carry the punishment was dropped. Parker was arrested on 21 January at a villa near the popular Bali tourist spot, Kuta beach. Police said Parker was "acting suspiciously" when he collected a package containing drugs from a motorcycle taxi driver. He allegedly discarded the package in a panic and fled the scene when approached by police. The 32-year-old was able to prove that he did not order the package. It was sent by a drug dealer friend, identified only as Nicky, and Parker was told someone would pick it up from him shortly afterwards. The trial, which began at the Denpasar District Court last month, heard Parker initially refused to collect the package but was assured by Nicky that it was safe and would not put him in danger. Indonesia has very strict drug laws and people convicted of drug trafficking can be executed by a firing squad. After police established the package was not directly linked to Parker, the initial charge of drug trafficking was reduced to the lesser offence of hiding information from authorities. The prosecution had sought a year-long prison sentence for Parker, but judges reduced the term as the electrician regretted his actions and had no previous convictions. After the panel of three judges handed down the sentence, Parker said he accepted the verdict and would not be lodging an appeal. "I really, really regret everything that has happened," he said. "I am sorry."
The Independent
27-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
British man sentenced in Bali after facing death penalty over MDMA package
A British man has been sentenced to 10 months in prison in Bali, Indonesia, for drug offences, after facing a charge that could have resulted in the death penalty. Thomas Parker, from Cumbria, was arrested on January 21 at a villa near Kuta beach after he allegedly collected a package containing drugs from a motorcycle taxi driver. According to court documents, police officers said Parker was "acting suspiciously" while collecting the package. When approached by police, he allegedly discarded the package and fled. He was later traced back to his villa and arrested. A lab test confirmed that the package contained just over one kilogram of MDMA, the main ingredient in ecstasy. During the police investigation, the 32-year-old electrician proved that he did not order the package, which was sent by a drug dealer friend named Nicky, whom Parker had known for around two years. Parker was told someone would pick it up shortly from him, and he was not promised money or anything else by Nicky in return. Police reduced the initial charge of drug trafficking, which carries a possible death sentence, to the less serious offense of hiding information from authorities after investigators determined that the package was not directly linked to him. During the trial, which began last month at the Denpasar District Court, Parker told the court he initially refused to collect the package but agreed to do it after Nicky assured him the package was safe and would not put him in danger. Prosecutors on May 6 sought a one-year prison term for Parker, but the judges said they reduced the penalty because Parker regretted his acts, had not been previously convicted and promised to reform. Parker sat silently as a panel of three judges at Denpasar District Court handed down the punishment. The judges also ordered the time he has already served since he was arrested to be deducted from his sentence, meaning he will be free in several months. After the judges read the sentence, Parker said that he accepted the verdict and will not appeal. Prosecutors must decide whether to accept it within a week. 'I really, really regret everything that has happened,' Parker said. 'I am sorry and will follow the judge's decision.' Indonesia has very strict drug laws and convicted traffickers can be executed by a firing squad. About 530 people are on death row in Indonesia, mostly for drug-related crimes, including 96 foreigners, Ministry of Immigration and Corrections' data showed. Indonesia's last executions, of an Indonesian and three foreigners, were carried out in July 2016.
ABC News
27-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Aussie who could face death penalty in Bali is 'very upset and stressed'
Australian Lamar Aaron Ahchee could face the death penalty if found guilty of smuggling cocaine into Bali. The 43-year-old from Cairns was arrested after police raided his rented house near Kuta Beach.
SBS Australia
26-05-2025
- SBS Australia
Australian man arrested in Bali over alleged drug smuggling could face death penalty
An Australian man arrested in Bali for allegedly smuggling cocaine could face the death penalty if charged and convicted, local authorities say. The 43-year-old man was arrested on Thursday after police raided his rented house near Kuta Beach. Authorities seized 1.7kg of cocaine along with a digital scale and mobile phone, Bali Police Chief Daniel Adityajaya said. The arrest followed an investigation conducted by Bali Police anti-drug surveillance teams, who reported the man had received two suspicious packages sent by mail from England, Adityajaya said. "He is suspected of importing or distributing class 1 narcotics," Adityaja told a news conference in Denpasar. "He is threatened with the death penalty or life imprisonment." Police on Monday presented the accused man at the news conference. He was wearing an orange detainee jumpsuit and a buff mask, with his hands handcuffed. The man did not make a statement. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Bali. "Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment," a spokesperson said. Indonesian authorities allege the man had ordered a motorcycle taxi driver through the Grab online service on 21 May, to pick up two packages at a post office in Denpasar. The driver was told to hand the two packages to a motorcycle taxi driver from another online service, who was ordered to deliver them to the Australian man's rented house, Adityajaya said. Indonesia has some of the world's strictest drug laws. Bali Nine ringleaders Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed by firing squad in 2015, sparking a diplomatic incident with Australia. They were among nine Australians arrested in 2005 for attempting to smuggle heroin out of the Indonesian resort island. In December, Indonesia returned to Australia the five remaining members of the drug smuggling ring who had been serving life sentences in the Southeast Asian country. The men, who have not been pardoned, are banned from entering Indonesia for life. Renae Lawrence was released in 2018 and Tan Duc Than Nguyen died of cancer the same year.
