Bali: Australian man Joshua James Baker could be jailed for up to 15 years after being named a suspect for allegedly bringing a mixture of marijuana, tobacco and prescription-only drugs into Bali.
Mr Baker, 32, was handed over to police after being apprehended at Ngurah Rai airport on October 8 with an alleged 28 grams of marijuana and 37 pills of diazepam, a prescription-only sedative.
Bali police spokesman Hengky Widjaja said Mr Baker, who was born in Mount Isa, Queensland, had been named a suspect but remained under doctor's observation.
Naming someone a suspect in the Indonesia justice system means authorities believe they have enough evidence for charges to be filed, which does not take place until the case is before the court.
Police said Mr Baker faced charges of drug importation and/or possession, which carry maximum sentences of 15 and 12 years respectively.
Under Indonesia's strict anti-dug laws, Baker would face a minimum five years behind bars if convicted of drug importation and minimum four years if found guilty of possession.
Mr Baker managed to escape from a police hospital on October 10 when he went to the toilet and broke out through the window, while the two police officers guarding his room were watching television.
He hired a motorcycle taxi and led police on a cat-and-mouse chase until they managed to re-apprehend him at a hotel in the expat precinct of Canggu about 12 hours later.
Mr Baker's lawyer, Pande Putu Maya Arsanti, said her client was mentally ill and couldn't be held accountable for his actions.
She said Dr Denny Thong, an Indonesian doctor whom Mr Baker had been seeing for about five years, told her Mr Baker had "chronic mental problems".
"He hallucinates and has other abnormal behaviors," Ms Arsanti told Fairfax Media.
"On Monday he will issue a letter stating just that."
Ms Arsanti said it was difficult to try and talk to Mr Baker because he got "quite stressed".
"We barely spoke, he will complain he is dizzy, and we then have to take a break for him to consume his medicine or he will do something we don't want," Ms Arsanti said.
"I told the police to ensure he doesn't run out of his medicine."
Ms Arsanti said she would present the police with a letter on Monday outlining Mr Baker's condition.
"My client can't be held accountable for his action," she said.
"When he was questioned by police the other day, he relapsed, thank God his medicine was there. He took that, if it wasn't there, who knows what might have happened. The police know that."
Mr Widjaja said the doctor's assessment had not been received yet and Mr Baker remained under police arrest at Bhayangkara Trijata police hospital.
