A psychiatrist is expected to tell a court in Bali that a 14-year-old Australian boy facing drugs charges has been a regular user of marijuana in the hope it will help him avoid a custodial sentence.
The teenager, from Morisset Park near Newcastle, will appear in the Denpasar District Court on Friday for the second day of his trial on three charges, including one of possession which could see him jailed for up to six years.
However, the boy's legal team remains hopeful the court will opt for one of two much lighter "drug use" charges, and that the Year 9 student will avoid an extended stay behind bars in Indonesia.
They are relying on the testimony of a number of doctors, as well as local psychiatrist Danny Thong who examined the boy after his arrest, and who is expected to tell the court on Friday that the the boy should be treated as a "user" of drugs.
Under Indonesian law, people who are categorised as users are often shown leniency.
Two of the plainclothes police officers who arrested the teenager outside a supermarket near Kuta Beach on October 4 are also expected to testify on Friday.
The teenager, who was with a 13-year-old friend when he was arrested, was allegedly caught with 3.6 grams of marijuana, which he told police he bought from a dealer on the beach.
It's expected prosecutors will submit their sentence request on Tuesday, with the judge to deliver a verdict by as early as Friday next week.
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