Bali police will push ahead with the prosecution of Australian Joshua James Baker over alleged drug possession despite the pleas of his lawyer who insists he is mentally ill and cannot be held accountable.
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The 32-year-old, who was born in Mount Isa, was apprehended at Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport on October 8 with an alleged 28 grams of marijuana and 37 pills of diazepam, a prescription-only sedative.
He has been formally named a suspect and faces a jail sentence of between four and fifteen years if convicted of drug importation and/or possession.
Mr Baker's lawyer Maya Arsanti said people with mental illnesses try marijuana or sometimes valium (another name for diazepam) just to make themselves "balanced".
"He has a mental illness so based on Indonesian law, Indonesian police cannot prosecute Joshua because he cannot be held responsible."
Ms Arsanti said she would ask the Bali police chief for Mr Baker to be assessed by Dr Denny Thong, an Indonesian psychiatrist who had treated him in the past.
"We don't want our client to die here," she said dramatically.
Ms Arsanti later explained that the doctors at Bhayangkara Trijata police hospital did not have Mr Baker's medical records and did not speak good English.
"They stopped his medicine, my client then complained he felt pressure on his chest. I am worried."
She said it was "very strange" that the police from the narcotics department had not allowed Dr Thong to assess Mr Baker on Wednesday.
Bali police's deputy director of narcotics, Sudjarwoko, said Mr Baker had answered questions put to him and it was considered that he could be held accountable for his actions.
"Anybody who has a legal problem with the police suffers some sort of mental problems. No one would happily face such a time."
However he said this was different to being so mentally unwell that a person could not be held accountable for their actions.
"If the person was crazy, if we asked him one thing he would answer another thing. He would then need to be released under the law. But [Mr Baker] could answer the questions we asked him."
Mr Sudjarwoko said Mr Baker had been released from the hospital and continued to be treated as an outpatient.
"Yesterday the interrogation went briefly," he said. "Only a few questions in he complained that his body ached. So we had to stop."
Dr Thong said he had treated Mr Baker two years ago and he had been mentally ill.
He said it was his impression that Mr Baker would have used the marijuana and diazepam to treat his illness rather than for recreational purposes.
"He has tried so many things. I have given him benzodiazepine to calm him down but that also sometimes gives delusions. This is a strong medication."
He said he would be able to provide a better picture if he was able to assess Mr Baker again.
