Hopes have risen that an Australian teenager arrested for drug possession in Bali will avoid a jail term and be ordered to undergo rehabilitation instead.
Police have confirmed to AAP they are now more likely to deal with the boy under article 128 of Indonesia's narcotics laws.
The crucial development came as a psychiatrist who interviewed the boy on Friday said he would hand his report to the teenager's legal team, also recommending that he not be sent to prison.
Bali Police drugs squad chief Mulyadi said that while the investigation was ongoing, he suggested it was now more likely the boy would avoid a jail term.
"Since he's a minor, he is a user and so, we believe article 128 is the most appropriate way," he told AAP.
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"We are still processing him according to our law."
Under article 128, those caught with small amounts of drugs are able to be released if they are defined as a frequent user.
While the boy would still face court, he would avoid a criminal charge.
However, his parents would have to ensure he completed his rehabilitation. If they failed to report regularly, they could be jailed instead for up to six months.
The prospect is a major boost for the 14-year-old, from Morisset Park, south of Newcastle, who had been facing a possible sentence of up to six years after he was allegedly caught with about $25 worth of marijuana.
Despite the development, it is likely the boy will remain behind bars at Bali police headquarters in Denpasar for at least another three weeks. Police still have up to 23 days to complete their investigation.
A psychiatrist's report that will be handed to his lawyer Mohammad Rifan, details of which wereobtained by AAP, has also recommended the year nine student not be sent to prison.
The report from Denny Thong, the high-profile psychiatrist who treated Schapelle Corby and members of the Bali Nine, will urge police to take the boy's age into account.
It raises "his history of drug use, his mental health" and will recommend that he should not be given a custodial sentence.
The report will acknowledge "that he is a marijuana user but only an occasional user".
"He's in growing up phase and should be placed in a situation where there's nothing going to hinder his maturing process," Dr Thong will recommend.
The report is understood to say the boy is healthy and his mental condition is good, and that efforts should be made to avoid hindering his development.
Dr Thong, who visited the boy on Friday at the request of his lawyer, will report that prison is the place where he would least like to see the 14-year-old end up.
Another report, by welfare officers, is expected to be handed to authorities this week.
Australia's ambassador to Indonesia, Greg Moriarty, visited the boy on Monday for a third day in a row and also met senior Indonesian officials to discuss the case.
Prime Minster Julia Gillard has also spoken to the teenager, and to his father, who arrived back in Australia on Monday morning.
His mother has stayed behind in Bali and remains with the boy at Bali police headquarters in Denpasar, where he was preparing on Monday to spend his seventh night in custody since his arrest last week.
Ms Gillard told the boy and his father in a telephone conversation on Sunday that the government was doing "everything it could" to get him out of the situation, a spokesman for the prime minister said on Monday.
"The prime minister is following the case closely and with concern," he said. Ms Gillard and Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who has also become involved personally in the case, have been in frequent contact over the matter and are being briefed daily by officials.
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