Indonesia to free Australian man arrested naked, drunk after compensation deal with rampage victim
- The 23-year-old man was detained in April after he was accused of drinking vodka and attacking several people near a surf resort in Aceh province
- He faced up to five years in prison and 40 lashes of the cane if convicted in Aceh, the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to practise sharia law
An Australian man arrested over a drunken rampage in a conservative Indonesian province is set to return home after he was freed from jail following a compensation deal with his victim.
Bodhi Mani Risby-Jones was detained in April after he was accused of drinking vodka and attacking several people, including a fisherman who fell from his motorcycle and was hospitalised with grievous foot injury, near a surf resort in Aceh province.
Risby-Jones faced five years in prison and 40 lashes of the cane in Aceh, the only region in Muslim-majority Indonesia to practise sharia law that also bans alcohol consumption.
Police said the 23-year-old ran drunk and naked from his hotel room while on a surfing holiday, striking people in the streets of Simeulue island. Officers found a vodka bottle in his hotel room, but the Queensland man claimed he only consumed one “tiny” shot and denied he was naked at the time of the incident.
Risby-Jones’ woes mounted as doctors said Edi Ron would need at least three months to recover from a broken ankle that required 50 stitches and surgery.
Edi’s wife earlier said the family was willing to pardon the Australian if he gives reparations to cover the man’s medical expenses.
Risby-Jones last week paid 250 million rupiah (US$16,817) as part of the settlement deal and told the fisherman’s spouse: “I am once again very sorry and I’m very happy that you accepted my apology.”
He also said he “made a fool of myself and it was shown publicly worldwide” following his release on Tuesday.
His parents expressed their gratitude to everyone involved in the negotiation to avoid the case going to court, saying Risby-Jones was “looking forward to putting this chapter behind him”.
“We are incredibly grateful and relieved that Bodhi will soon be coming home to Australia and we thank everyone involved from the bottom of our hearts,” public broadcaster ABC quoted the family as saying.
In a separate incident, another Australian is facing more than two years in jail after he was arrested for allegedly assaulting a woman he met on a dating app in his Bali hotel room.
Police said the victim sustained injuries after the man got into a violent argument with her, adding weapons including knives and stolen cigarettes were also recovered from his room.
