Pepper I only got to the first sentence of your post.
Annoyingly uninformed.
And a WARNING.
Do not believe every thing you read.
The kid has been moved to A SHOW Place lock up.
2 years old I suspect its high class motel type rooms and services exist as a show case.
Far better than Australian refugee accommodation , it houses also about 35 illegal migrants on there way here,until stopped.
Indonesia, if it tried to interfere with Australian laws would rightly be condemned.
I condemn those who blame them for enforcing their laws in their country!

Talking of double standards...

"...if I were an Indonesian I would be shouting from the treetops about Australian double standards. The figures are elastic, but there are literally dozens of Indonesian teenagers imprisoned in Australian detention centres and jails, without charge, without trial, without hope."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/hypocrisy-leaves-holes-in-the-kid-gloves-20111014-1lp30.html

"...a 15-year-old named Mukhtar was recruited from the even more remote island of Rote, a speck in the ocean near Timor. He was paid just $400. In late 2009 he was caught off Christmas Island, held for eight months in detention and then transferred to Hakea Prison, a maximum security adult jail in Perth. There he was kept in a section for ''protected prisoners'' who, almost certainly, included killers and child molesters. After a year and 11 months, a Perth court dismissed charges of people smuggling and he was sent home last Friday week. The $4 a day he'd been paid for prison work was taken from him to defray his airfare."

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/the-shame-we-keep-locked-away-20111021-1mc7p.html

But that's not the point here, is it. We're talking about an innocent young Australian lad, who through absolutely no fault of his own, found himself in Bali visiting a massage parlour and buying ganja, then completely accidentally boasting about it to anyone who'd listen

No comparison at all with uneducated Indonesian islanders maliciously crewing a boat so that their family might eat.

We can certainly hold our heads up high, can't we, with our feet set firmly on the moral high ground, and our judicial system the envy of all.

Well, perhaps not all.

North Korea, maybe.

individual and Hasbeen

Fourteen is a kid. Everyone is entitled to make some mistakes when they are young and have the opportunity to mature and learn from them. Locking up teenagers of that age serves no purpose and there are better ways than breeding a whole new generation of hardened crims. This kid has a drug problem and that is what should be the primary concern here not to lock him up and throw away the key.

King Hazza
I am not blaming the Indonesians for upholding their own laws but I think the age factor is relevant and in this case the method of entrapment (if that was the case). The viability of entrapment often comes a cropper in Court. The case of the young model was dismissed on just as flimsy grounds as any other drug case as is my understanding including the fact that she was in the company of a high profile member's son. That is the double standard but to be fair Indonesia is not alone in privilege assisting in release.

I cannot comment on the statistics you quoted unless I also know the percentages compared to the population (of nationals) and the numbers of tourists each year compated to arrests. For anyone who has been to Bali the actions of police do not seem to deter street dealers pushing sex or drugs. Of course if there was no market there would be no hawkers.

What about a reverse sting operation to rid the streets of drug dealers and peddlers of young children for sex. I know which approach I would be barracking for.

Those last two posts! I feel warm and comfy just seeing them,the understanding and well put together posts.
This morning wander in to our print media had me down.
I am baffled by the comments there.
Running Bali in to the ground telling us not to go near the place.
Public debate and comment in this country has much to answer for.
Who knows enough about this kid to name him saint or victim.
Any of us know a 14year old boy or girl out of control.
How dare we!
Tell a NATION, we will tell them how to run the laws in THEIR country!
Some comment we must except,is not well thought out.
Last, we have, here in SYDNEY and other capitals, seen sex slavery drugs by the tonne and Police in prison, even the highest level!
And still defame others?

Not really Pelican- 14 is a dubious age to classify as a 'kid', and we are not 'entitled to make mistakes'- it is arguably that sense of entitlement to actually do the wrong thing that is perhaps a great problem in our society.
And the fact that many cops may be corrupt and easy to bribe in Indonesia cannot fault the authorities for doing the right thing, and the fact is, they are clearly arresting more Indonesians for possession than they are Australians- and considering the number of Aussies likely engaging in illicit activity and drugs over there, they are, if anything, looking the other way for our benefit more than the locals.

For the next part, which is also an answer to antisceptic; the reason why Indonesians might consider narcotics and prostitution so bad is because by Australians going there and demanding these services, we are establishing potential mafias, pimps and other groups that could be a detriment to the local communities;
The fact that Bali went from a very nice place indeed 20 years ago into a dangerous, rundown, backwater slum to pander to the more hedonistic likes of Australia's modern Bali tourist rather sets a good example that the authorities may have a good reason to come down hard on these trades.

King Hazza
I would have no objection if the boy was an adult but it is hardly dubious to perceive 14 as a child. Children of that age do not have the legal rights of an 18 year old for good reason; not possessing the maturity to make adult decisions. The same should apply when they do wrong. They cannot vote, go to war, drive a car or imbibe alcohol.

The boy was not dealing drugs or smuggling drugs into or out of the country (as far as we know).