(Image Source: The Sydney Morning Herald)

BY JJ BAILEY AND JESSICA GOODWIN
ANCHOR JIM FLINK

You're watching multisource world news analysis from Newsy.

A 14-year-old boy has become Australia’s number one diplomatic priority. The boy could face a maximum sentence of 12 years in an Indonesian prison if he is found guilty of possessing 3.6 grams of marijuana. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation...

“I have just now spoken with our ambassador in Jakarta, Ambassador Moriarty. I have indicated to him that his number one priority in the immediate period ahead is how we support this young boy and his family and do everything we can to obtain his early return to Australia.”

The 14 year old is the youngest Australian ever to be arrested in Indonesia on drug charges. Many are unsure what the consequences will be for the minor if he is found guilty. National Nine News comments...

“This is a whole new territory for everybody, he is the youngest Australian as far as we know to be arrested on drugs charges in Indonesia. It’s a whole new world here. What they’re going to do with him, where are they going to hold him, what they’re going to charge him with is really up in the air at the moment.”

Indonesia does not have a separate juvenile court system or have many children’s jails, therefore if he is convicted, the boy will most likely end up in an adult prison.

Australian News outlets have covered the story at length, and some, like The Sydney Morning Herald, aren’t hiding their opinions. The paper leads with...

“AN AUSTRALIAN schoolboy arrested in Bali on drugs charges is deeply traumatised and faces doing time in Kerobokan prison, home of Schapelle Corby, members of the Bali nine heroin ring and a child rapist.”

and goes on to describe the first 24 hours as “...a frightening first evening alone.”

Others, like ninemsn, headlined their story with the boy’s defense that he was “just helping a beggar,” and referred to the possession first not by numbers, but by calling it a “small amount of marijuana.”

The Australian focused heavily on the possible sentences of the boy. There are several possibilities based on Indonesia’s court system.  

“Under Indonesian law, which does not differentiate between under-age and adult sentencing, the maximum penalty for possession is 12 years in jail. However, if an offender is judged to be addicted and possessing only for personal use, the maximum penalty is generally four years.”

However, they also talked to the boy’s lawyer, Mohammad Rifan, who came up with a different number.

“Mr Rifan said the boy could be charged under provisions for juveniles, in which case the maximum penalty would be six years.”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation reports the boy fell victim to a police sting operation, says the sentence could range from 2-6 years, though they quote a lawyer who expects the boy to be released to his parents.

Meanwhile the Jakarta Globe chose to run an Agence France Presse story, which has a different headline. In this account, the ‘boy’ is now a ‘teen,’ and he was ‘nabbed,’ rather than just arrested.

Transcript by Newsy.