Another Aussie held under drugs charge in Indonesia

Another Australian has been arrested on drugs charges in Indonesia, following the high-profile arrest of model Michelle Leslie for alleged possession of Ecstasy at a Bali dance party.

Foreign Minister Alexander Downer confirmed that 20-year-old Adelaide teacher Graham Clifford Payne was in custody after police allegedly found him in possession of more than 2000 pills of a "broad array of drugs", and several syringes.

The arrests follow saturation coverage of the trial of Gold Coast beauty therapy student Schapelle Corby, now serving 20 years for possession of cannabis, and the death sentences Bali prosecutors are seeking for the alleged heroin smugglers known as the Bali Nine.

"Look, the Schapelle Corby case, if you had missed it you'd have to have been a hermit," Downer told ABC radio, commenting on the number of Australians still being caught on drug charges in Asia.

"That has been an enormously prominent case. To be honest, people must take the warnings seriously and not think they can take a risk."

Downer's warnings came with some good news, however, with the decision by Vietnamese President Tran Duc Luong to commute to life imprisonment the death penalty passed last November of Australian heroin trafficker Tran Van Thanh.

The decision was made on humanitarian grounds and in consideration of the good relationship between Vietnam and Australia, Downer said.

Welcoming the announcement, he said Canberra would continue to press for clemency for an Australian citizen and a permanent resident also facing death in Vietnam.

Investigating officer Irwan Anwar told the Australian that police had arrested Payne after stopping the three-wheeled becak vehicle in which he was travelling and allegedly finding a packet of methamphetamine in his pocket.

Police allege they later found 2126 other pills and four used syringes in the house in which he had been living in Medan, Sumatra, and that Payne's urine had tested positive for amphetamines and heroin.

"I think his situation [is] incredibly serious," Downer said.

If testing shows large amounts of amphetamines or other illegal drugs, Payne could face trafficking charges, which carry the death penalty.

Meanwhile, Bali police said that Leslie had tested negative for drugs and that the nature of the two pills which police allegedly found in her handbag had yet to be confirmed.

Police said Leslie had been heard to tell a friend shortly after her arrest that another friend had paid about A$50 ($54) for the tablets at a Kuta restaurant and put them in her bag.

Leslie hired Bali lawyer Mohammad Rifan, who helped get Australian John Pyle a light sentence for cannabis possession. Leslie could face 15 years in jail, with a minimum of four years served.