Bali court finds model guilty

DENPASAR, Bali - Australian model Michelle Leslie is planning a swift exit from Indonesia so she can "clear her name" after a Bali court yesterday found her guilty of using ecstasy and sentenced her to three months in jail.

Leslie could not keep the smile from her face as she hugged her lawyers and shook hands with the trial's three judges and the prosecutor after the decision.

Having already served three months in custody, her lawyers were hoping she would be out of jail as early as tonight and out of the country within days.

"I'm happy to be going home and telling everything, and clearing my name," Leslie said as she was rushed by minders through a camera crush and bundled into a police fan for her final trip back to Kerobokan Prison.

However late day, they were frantically negotiating with Indonesian justice and immigration officials about exactly when she will be set free. Prosecutors suggested that she might have to stay behind behind bars until Tuesday.

The three Denpasar District Court judges said Leslie had been proven "legally and convincingly guilty" of using a prohibited psychotropic drug and also fined her 1000 Indonesian rupiah (about $0.15).

Prosecutors had originally demanded a 15-year jail term for drugs possession.

But they reduced their demand to three months after Leslie's defence team claimed the drugs had been given to her by a mysterious friend named Mia, who told her they were medicine for frequent anxiety attacks.

Her Australian lawyer Ross Hill yesterday renewed his attack on the evidence against Leslie, hinting the trial - held amid rumours of a police cover-up - had been a sham.

"This case should never have been brought, because the police did not do a thorough and complete investigation," he said.

Hill said Leslie would reveal what "the real facts are" when she was safely out of Indonesia.

Her story would be "very much different" to the version heard in court.

"The fact is there was a certain version presented by the police to the court and there is another version supported by fact that we'll be presenting in due course," Hill said.

The 24-year-old model was arrested on August 20 when police found two ecstasy pills wrapped with tissue inside her designer handbag on her way into an all-night rave party near Kuta.

But there have been persistent allegations that police hid the fact that Leslie was with the sons of two powerful Indonesian families - including millionaire Economics Minister Aburizal Bakrie - on the night of her arrest. Neither were called as witnesses.

Hill said the evidence uncovered "wasn't the full truth", while Leslie has claimed she was "absolutely terrified" during the entire time since her arrest.

Judge I Gusti Ngurah Astawa said Leslie's sentence had been relatively light because she had been honest, polite and remorseful during trial.

"The defendant is still young and has no prior criminal record, has been well-behaved and conveyed her regret in front of court," he said.

Leslie sat quietly as the hour-long judgment.

Earlier she beamed as she was escorted into the court complex, despite being dragged through a media scrum and a deep puddle.

Hill denied her upbeat appearance meant that she knew the decision in advance.

Indonesia's media has alleged that the outcome had been wrapped up with hefty bribes to the court officials and prosecutors.

"Justice wasn't for sale in this case," he said.

"She's been most nervous because no-one knew, contrary to many reports, what the decision would have been today."

Leslie's sentence would be completed by midnight tonight Bali time and she would leave Indonesia as soon as paperwork could be completed, he said.

But chief prosecutor Risman Tarihoran said it was impossible for Leslie to leave so soon.

"We asked for three months, not 90 days, so my calculation is she should be freed on the 22nd (Tuesday)," he said.

Hill said if Leslie had told the full story during her trial, she could have risked putting her "head on the block" and getting a tougher sentence.

He said the defence team wanted to track down Mia - the friend Leslie has said gave her the tablets but who has since disappeared.

Hill said the defence team wanted "to talk" with Mia.

"We'll be seeing you," he said.

Hill refused to comment on whether "the truth" would be available only for a hefty price of up to A$600,000, ($647,179) saying the stories were "rubbish".

Once home, Leslie would "rest, relax, spend some time with friends and loved ones, and think about what she is going to do with her life from this point in time", he said.

The orderly unfolding of yesterday's hearing contrasted markedly with the pandemonium that broke out in the same court earlier this year when Gold Coast woman Schapelle Corby was sentenced to 20 years jail for smuggling 4.1kg cannabis into Bali.

Corby remains behind bars awaiting an appeal although her sentence has already been cut to 15 years.

- AAP