Is the fact that the latest arrest in Bali, for drugs, involves a minor an excuse for forgiveness.

It is aledged that this kid had a drug problem back home and, that he was being treated for same.

So, the question begs, what the hell were the parents thingking, taking this kid to a place like Bali, knowing his situation and, knowing the penalty for drugs can be death.

More so, knowing of his condition, and his surrounds, why was he unsupervised, to a point where he made contact with th alleged dealer.

Then ther is the cost.

Who pays the bills?

Who should?

Rehctub- you seem to be looking at this situation entirely the wrong way.

You are viewing it from the perspective of a normal, responsible parent- the kind of parent that would actually THINK about these kinds of problems, perhaps the kind of parents that wouldn't think twice about jumping in to offer advice or insist on guiding their children down the right paths in life (let alone warn their children to not even bother taking their drugs through airports in South East Asia and just leaving them behind and buying them on the other side if they really wanted them).

I can tell you as a fact there are parents who are so lazy and self-absorbed, that they were probably themselves drunk or stoned every time their child was around and simply paid no attention to what they were doing.
(and no, I'm not talking about parents who take drugs when their kids aren't around; these kinds of parents would have been most likely to pick up on their kids drug habits and give them a warning- there are parents who are intoxicated all the time and simply don't care what happens.)

We can only read between the lines.
Based on what little has found its way in to the media.
WARNING! never take that on face value, it is as often wrong as right.
14 years old, from seemingly a middle class family, said to be rebellious.
Spoiled? maybe, being bribed or rewarded with the Trip or just a family habit?
Who knows.
He is at an age that see some think mum and dad are fools.
That they know every thing.
We have no right to impose our views/wishes/wants on police in Bali.
We may well ask what becomes of the locals who deal in drugs.
Even if, like Australia, police taxing, that is picking up benefits from the trade keeps it alive.;
If he was my son, I too would sleep in a room next to him.
And remind him every day/hour how very stupid he has without doubt, been.
I would tell him about second chances and better lifestyles.
I would ask that he, be shown the inside of the worst prison cells.
Love some time harms tough love is worth while.

There is an excuse there, and that is for the parents to swap places with the kid.

I wonder if now we will see a rush of parents, with troublesome teenagers, taking them to Bali for a short, to be extended, holiday?

Dear rehctub,

You ask the question - "Is being 14 an excuse?"
of the young man now facing charges on possessing
cannabis in Bali. We don't know all the facts in
this case. And judging his parents ahead of time
doesn't seem quite fair. Some of the newspaper
articles that I've read - state that the young
man was set up. That there was a police "sting,"
and someone had dopped him in. So who knows what's
going on. Certainly, this is going to be a lesson
that the young man will live to regret.

An interesting comment made by a reader in Saturday's,
The Age, (Oct. 8th, 2011), gives a different take on
this matter. The reader states:

"It is disheartening to observe the lengths to which
the federal government will go to support the 14
year old boy in Bali compared with the lengths the
government woll go to not support children in detention
and refugees in our own country.

How is it possible to acknowledge so thoroughly this
boy's distress of being in jail for four days and yet
be blind to the distress their policies inflict upon
those who are held for months or years?"