Wanganui's Antony de Malmanche faces 18 years in Bali jail

AWAITING HIS FATE: Antony de Malmanche in a holding cell before his latest court appearance in Bali. PHOTO/AP

The call for him to serve 18 years in jail left Wanganui man Antony de Malmanche "shell-shocked" ... but at least he does not face the death penalty.

Prosecutors in Bali asked for an 18-year prison sentence for the 53-year-old - who faces drug-trafficking charges - when they wrapped up their case at the court in Denpasar on Thursday.

"It was a pretty good outcome - at least the death penalty is off the table," family spokesman James Bellamy said.

"It is about as good as it could have gone really and it's a huge relief, so the defence team is feeling confident."

Mr Bellamy, who has been in Bali for the past month and is making a documentary on the case, said the defence remained hopeful de Malmanche would be acquitted.

He said de Malmanche was a bit "shell-shocked" - "We just tried not to get him to see it as a sentence, and just to see it as a request. It's easy to confuse the prosecution's request with a sentence, and I think Antony was perhaps feeling like it was a sentence."

De Malmanche is in Kerobokan Prison after being arrested in December at Bali's Denpasar Airport and charged with carrying 1.7kg of methamphetamine in his backpack.

His defence argues de Malmanche had been effectively brainwashed by hours of online chat with someone identifying as "Jessy Smith", whom he had fallen in love with.

The defence presented more than 450 pages of chat logs.

They said de Malmanche, who suffers mental illness and has a low IQ, was tricked into the Bali journey on the pretence of meeting Jessy.

However, prosecutor Siti Sawiyah wanted the court to disregard evidence from New Zealand barrister Craig Tuck, who told the court de Malmanche was not a trafficker, but a victim of trafficking.

"The defendant should not escape his responsibility for this crime ... he must be punished," she said.

The trial, which sits one day a week, takes a break next week before the defence is due to sum up its case in just under a fortnight. Mr Bellamy said the verdict could be known in a month.

-A sausage sizzle will be held at Mitre 10 Mega Wanganui today between 9am and 3pm to raise funds for the defence. So far, about $3000 has been raised locally for the legal bill which will top $100,000. A Givealittle page called Antony de Malmanche Legal Fund has raised $16,500 and can be found at givealittle.co.nz/cause/antonydemalmanchelegalfund.