Nick Watt, the pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Whanganui was a character witness at the Denpasar, Indonesia, court in early June during Anthony de Malmanche’s trial.
de Malmanche was found guilty on Tuesday and sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Watt says he has known de Malmanche for four years and been his minister for three.
Mr Watt testified in the court in early June before he visited de Malmanche in Kerobokan Prison.
“My experience in the court was a joke. It was a farce.”
The court sat for one day a week over about three months.
On June 4 the defence had its one day to present its case but in reality it was only about two hours.
“I had maybe a dozen letters, character witnesses for Tony … the judge asked me to pick the best one and summarise it. That was my testimony,” said Watt.
52-year-old de Malmanche was arrested last December, after 1.7kg of methamphetamine was found in his backpack at Denpasar International Airport in Bali.
He had flown to Hong Kong to meet his internet girlfriend “Jessy”.
De Malmanche had been speaking to Jessy online for about four months last year but was blinded by love and didn’t see the signs, Watt said.
Source
- nzherald.co.nz
- Image: 3news.co.nz
