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The truth about Schapelle Corby
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Kathryn Bonella
December 15, 2007 12:00am
SINCE the day Australians were swept up in Schapelle Corby fever in May 2005, story after story has appeared to turn public sympathy into anger or indifference. Those who were once with her - and who sobbed over the 20-year-sentence, furious at the Indonesian justice system - now feel betrayed.
They'd invested their emotions in Schapelle and now she's let them down. But the truth is that many of the stories and rumours that have drastically reshaped public opinion are wrong; often they are based on flimsy, unsubstantiated information and spread like wildfire. But false stories often remain fact, even if they're later found to be 100 per cent wrong.
The Corbys would perhaps be less sensitive to the continual barrage of sensational allegations if they weren't so concerned about how each new claim or rumour will hurt Schapelle's final appeal - a decision she's waited on for more than 12 months.
Her fate is now in the hands of three judges in Jakarta, who will decide whether to cut her 20-year sentence and give her a chance at having a normal life.
The Corbys constantly defend themselves, usually saying, "It's lies", which even they know ends up sounding lame. In the end, who will believe them when there are so many stories - even when they do prove a story is wrong, as they so often do.
The indisputable fact is that Schapelle Corby stories sell, and that is now to her detriment. The Today Tonight stories earlier this year featuring claims by one-time friend Jodie Power gave the program the eighth top-rating show out of all TV programs this year (excluding sport).
Meanwhile, Corby has done nothing to warrant this new wrath and sits forlornly in Kerobokan Prison. She's not fully aware of how the tide has turned against her, and there's little she can do to defend herself.
She's cooped up in a small concrete cell 15 hours a day with nine other women. She spends all her energy trying to cope with her hellish daily life, trying desperately to stave off constant depression and the weight of a 20-year sentence.
While she remains powerless and at the mercy of the Indonesian justice system, many of the unfounded stories continue to sway people against her.
Here are some claims which have been made about Schapelle Corby.
Claim: Schapelle and Mercedes Corby refused to agree to DNA test the marijuana.
Counter claim: Mercedes had no part in it. Schapelle willingly gave her consent to the Australian Consul in Bali on December 3, 2004, to have the Australian Federal Police offer the Bali Police assistance to test the marijuana, but it was never taken up. Indeed, Schapelle pushed for DNA testing and for fingerprinting of the plastic bags. Bali Police did neither.
Claim: Schapelle's father Michael lived next door to a drug dealer.
Counter claim: The neighbour was convicted for growing and possessing marijuana. He was found not guilty of "supplying". Worse, they hadn't been neighbours for almost a year before Schapelle flew to Bali.
Claim: Schapelle was photographed with a drug dealer before going to Bali. This was the first story apparently linking Schapelle to a drug network. It, too, was wrong.
Counter claim: The photo was taken inside Kerobokan in 2005. The man in the photo was one of hundreds of tourists who went in to visit Schapelle in jail. When he asked if he could have his photograph taken with her, Schapelle happily agreed, smiling for the snap and with no knowledge of the drug connection. The journalist wrote a story a week later stating the photos had been taken inside prison.
Claim: Schapelle's father had been convicted on drugs charges.
Counter claim: In the early 1970s, her father received a fine when police raided a party and found a single joint. He had a broken leg and was the only one who didn't flee. He wasn't interviewed by the police and has no criminal record.
Claim: Schapelle went to Centrelink a month before she went to Bali to apply for a pension for drug-related psychological problems.
Counter claim: Centrelink worker Natalie Pearson, 24, later admitted in court that she'd simply repeated office gossip and had never seen Schapelle's file. The magistrate in the Gold Coast court called her a "disgrace", saying the Corbys had already been through enough "without this sort of thing".
Claim: Schapelle's half-brother James Kisina was responsible for the drugs that were found in her board bag.
Counter claim: Schapelle is certain Kisina, who travelled with her to Bali in 2004 (when he was 16 and at high school), had nothing to do with it. She says he didn't go near her bag before she checked it in.
If he were guilty, she says she wouldn't be doing time for him. He was school captain and had never been in trouble until about 15 months after Schapelle's arrest.
Claim: Mercedes lived in Bali before Schapelle's arrest, owned a surf shop with her husband from where they sold drugs.
Counter claim: She and her family lived in Queensland, were on holiday in Bali and didn't own a surf shop there.
Claim: Schapelle doesn't want to be transferred to an Australian jail.
Counter claim: No transfer scheme exists between Australia and Indonesia, but if it becomes a possibility, Schapelle says she'll make a decision then. This false story gives the misleading impression jail life in Bali is OK. And of course, it isn't.
Claim: Jail life is pretty good.
Counter claim: Jail life is hard. All women prisoners are locked in small concrete cells at 4.30pm every day. The cell doors open at 7.30am, but the women stay in a small walled off section. They can't play sports. There's no luxury, no TV, no airconditioning, no running shower. And there's nothing to do but think.
Claim: Schapelle gets given days out to go to local cafes and shops.
Counter claim: Schapelle has been out twice this year, both times under police escort to the dentist to have a rotting tooth removed. Last year she went outside once: to court.
Claim: the Corby family is using the money from media and book deals to live the high life.
Counter claim: Schapelle's father spent all of his superannuation on her legal fees - a total of more than $200,000 to date. The family continues to fight for Schapelle's freedom. They also spend money feeding her, providing all her essentials (including toilet paper and cleaning products) and medical care. Just getting a doctor into the prison costs $500.
Claim: Schapelle is being moved to a prison in Java because she wrote her book, My Story.
Counter claim: The threat of being moved existed long before the book. All foreign prisoners are under threat of being moved because of overcrowding in Kerobokan. While she is still in appeal, she won't be moved.
Claim: Schapelle wants to have a baby in prison.
Counter claim: She wants a baby but has no plans to have one in jail. She's clinging to the hope she'll one day have a family as a free woman.
Claim: She had an affair with Bali Nine member Andrew Chan.
Counter claim: She's never had an affair with Chan or anyone in jail.
Corby turned 30 this year and faces a fourth Christmas in jail. If her appeal is unsuccessful, she'll spend 16 more years behind bars, and will be 47 when she's released.
Former television producer Kathryn Bonella co-wrote My Story by Schapelle Corby, Pan Macmillan, $35
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Kathryn Bonella
December 15, 2007 12:00am
SINCE the day Australians were swept up in Schapelle Corby fever in May 2005, story after story has appeared to turn public sympathy into anger or indifference. Those who were once with her - and who sobbed over the 20-year-sentence, furious at the Indonesian justice system - now feel betrayed.
They'd invested their emotions in Schapelle and now she's let them down. But the truth is that many of the stories and rumours that have drastically reshaped public opinion are wrong; often they are based on flimsy, unsubstantiated information and spread like wildfire. But false stories often remain fact, even if they're later found to be 100 per cent wrong.
The Corbys would perhaps be less sensitive to the continual barrage of sensational allegations if they weren't so concerned about how each new claim or rumour will hurt Schapelle's final appeal - a decision she's waited on for more than 12 months.
Her fate is now in the hands of three judges in Jakarta, who will decide whether to cut her 20-year sentence and give her a chance at having a normal life.
The Corbys constantly defend themselves, usually saying, "It's lies", which even they know ends up sounding lame. In the end, who will believe them when there are so many stories - even when they do prove a story is wrong, as they so often do.
The indisputable fact is that Schapelle Corby stories sell, and that is now to her detriment. The Today Tonight stories earlier this year featuring claims by one-time friend Jodie Power gave the program the eighth top-rating show out of all TV programs this year (excluding sport).
Meanwhile, Corby has done nothing to warrant this new wrath and sits forlornly in Kerobokan Prison. She's not fully aware of how the tide has turned against her, and there's little she can do to defend herself.
She's cooped up in a small concrete cell 15 hours a day with nine other women. She spends all her energy trying to cope with her hellish daily life, trying desperately to stave off constant depression and the weight of a 20-year sentence.
While she remains powerless and at the mercy of the Indonesian justice system, many of the unfounded stories continue to sway people against her.
Here are some claims which have been made about Schapelle Corby.
Claim: Schapelle and Mercedes Corby refused to agree to DNA test the marijuana.
Counter claim: Mercedes had no part in it. Schapelle willingly gave her consent to the Australian Consul in Bali on December 3, 2004, to have the Australian Federal Police offer the Bali Police assistance to test the marijuana, but it was never taken up. Indeed, Schapelle pushed for DNA testing and for fingerprinting of the plastic bags. Bali Police did neither.
Claim: Schapelle's father Michael lived next door to a drug dealer.
Counter claim: The neighbour was convicted for growing and possessing marijuana. He was found not guilty of "supplying". Worse, they hadn't been neighbours for almost a year before Schapelle flew to Bali.
Claim: Schapelle was photographed with a drug dealer before going to Bali. This was the first story apparently linking Schapelle to a drug network. It, too, was wrong.
Counter claim: The photo was taken inside Kerobokan in 2005. The man in the photo was one of hundreds of tourists who went in to visit Schapelle in jail. When he asked if he could have his photograph taken with her, Schapelle happily agreed, smiling for the snap and with no knowledge of the drug connection. The journalist wrote a story a week later stating the photos had been taken inside prison.
Claim: Schapelle's father had been convicted on drugs charges.
Counter claim: In the early 1970s, her father received a fine when police raided a party and found a single joint. He had a broken leg and was the only one who didn't flee. He wasn't interviewed by the police and has no criminal record.
Claim: Schapelle went to Centrelink a month before she went to Bali to apply for a pension for drug-related psychological problems.
Counter claim: Centrelink worker Natalie Pearson, 24, later admitted in court that she'd simply repeated office gossip and had never seen Schapelle's file. The magistrate in the Gold Coast court called her a "disgrace", saying the Corbys had already been through enough "without this sort of thing".
Claim: Schapelle's half-brother James Kisina was responsible for the drugs that were found in her board bag.
Counter claim: Schapelle is certain Kisina, who travelled with her to Bali in 2004 (when he was 16 and at high school), had nothing to do with it. She says he didn't go near her bag before she checked it in.
If he were guilty, she says she wouldn't be doing time for him. He was school captain and had never been in trouble until about 15 months after Schapelle's arrest.
Claim: Mercedes lived in Bali before Schapelle's arrest, owned a surf shop with her husband from where they sold drugs.
Counter claim: She and her family lived in Queensland, were on holiday in Bali and didn't own a surf shop there.
Claim: Schapelle doesn't want to be transferred to an Australian jail.
Counter claim: No transfer scheme exists between Australia and Indonesia, but if it becomes a possibility, Schapelle says she'll make a decision then. This false story gives the misleading impression jail life in Bali is OK. And of course, it isn't.
Claim: Jail life is pretty good.
Counter claim: Jail life is hard. All women prisoners are locked in small concrete cells at 4.30pm every day. The cell doors open at 7.30am, but the women stay in a small walled off section. They can't play sports. There's no luxury, no TV, no airconditioning, no running shower. And there's nothing to do but think.
Claim: Schapelle gets given days out to go to local cafes and shops.
Counter claim: Schapelle has been out twice this year, both times under police escort to the dentist to have a rotting tooth removed. Last year she went outside once: to court.
Claim: the Corby family is using the money from media and book deals to live the high life.
Counter claim: Schapelle's father spent all of his superannuation on her legal fees - a total of more than $200,000 to date. The family continues to fight for Schapelle's freedom. They also spend money feeding her, providing all her essentials (including toilet paper and cleaning products) and medical care. Just getting a doctor into the prison costs $500.
Claim: Schapelle is being moved to a prison in Java because she wrote her book, My Story.
Counter claim: The threat of being moved existed long before the book. All foreign prisoners are under threat of being moved because of overcrowding in Kerobokan. While she is still in appeal, she won't be moved.
Claim: Schapelle wants to have a baby in prison.
Counter claim: She wants a baby but has no plans to have one in jail. She's clinging to the hope she'll one day have a family as a free woman.
Claim: She had an affair with Bali Nine member Andrew Chan.
Counter claim: She's never had an affair with Chan or anyone in jail.
Corby turned 30 this year and faces a fourth Christmas in jail. If her appeal is unsuccessful, she'll spend 16 more years behind bars, and will be 47 when she's released.
Former television producer Kathryn Bonella co-wrote My Story by Schapelle Corby, Pan Macmillan, $35
